Orson Oxo Van Beek & Quinten Mestdagh Belgian, b. 1995

Ornamentum is the first collaboration between the designer Orson van Beek and fashion designer Quinten Mestdagh. They started with research on the history of ornamental art and furniture and how this has evolved through time and history.

Both artists are fascinated by ornamental and decorative furniture and questioned why there is such an absence of this in contemporary design.

The aim was to create a new kind of ornamental furniture that touches the boundaries between aesthetics and functionality. The typical historical aesthetics connected to baroque and rococo styles are translated into graphic symbols and icons that formes the structure of the pieces.

With this idea, they created a still life of three objects representing a chair, a table, and a lamp. Orson Van Beeck and Quinten Mestdagh wanted to make the pieces of furniture so overly decorated until a point that the actual piece of furniture becomes functionless and that it becomes almost an ornament on itself. The still life of the three pieces is a study and a reflection on how ornamental furniture has evolved over time and how it can be reinvented and how it can find a place again in contemporary furniture design.