Horta Museum

Elaborating on the ideological principles of Art Nouveau and adapting them to a contemporary context, the exhibition pays homage to the famed Belgian architect and patron of the museum, following his ideas of bringing the exterior of the natural world indoors. The title of the show, “Nature of Things”, refers to a collection of poems by Francis Ponge, in which commonplace objects carry a philosophical charge.

The decorative aspects of our pieces derive from an in-depth research and investigation of natural materials. Echoing historical functional forms with unique assemblages of sculptural planes, the Perma collection reveals intricate anatomical details of plants submerged in tinted resin.

Artefacts with unique perishable qualities mirror the preserved world of Victor Horta’s house, offering a poetic interpretation of classical household typologies. From Perishable Vases and sculptures made using waste flowers and natural binders such as beeswax and shellac, to large cabinets clad with real tropical leaves, the pieces reflect a full spectrum of ephemerality, spanning from preservation to decay. Allowing nature to dictate the processes and outcomes of each piece with minimal interference, we have experimented with the processes of deconstruction, renewal and reconstruction, highlighting the impermanence of objects and, therefore, our unique relationship with them.