Maniera Inaugurates its New Gallery Space at Hôtel Danckaert.

Maniera inaugurated their new gallery space the best way they know how—with an exhibition. The Belgian design gallery has moved into the Hôtel Danckaert (also known as Villa Dewin), an Art Deco building in Brussels, designed in 1922 by the Belgian architect Jean-Baptiste Dewin with interiors by famous Ateliers d’Art De Coene.

For the inaugural show, fifteen new pieces by artists and architects enter into a dialogue with the building, breathing new life into the interior. Office Kersten Geers David Van Severen, Richard Venlet, Bijoy Jain / Studio Mumbai, Jonathan Muecke, Sophie Nys, Valérie Mannaerts, Christoph Hefti, Piovenefabi, Koenraad Dedobbeleer, Stéphane Barbier Bouvetand, Lukas Gchwandtner and Rooms Studio all added their personal touch, with the works and villa working in tandem to bring the space (and objects) alive.

Located in the dining room is Lazy Pillows by Lukas Gchwandtner. A large steel platform welded by the artist, houses a sofa in off-white painters canvas made up of many integrated pillows filled with lush feathers. Lukas has crafted a made-to-measure dress for his sculptural piece, in silky nylon with hand-cut fringes.

By the staircase, Belgian artist Valérie Mannaerts has created Little Vessel, a theatrical lamp made of steel and rope. The base of the lamp resembles a knotted cord, and the shade, made out of a continuous rope, creates dramatic shadows.

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One of the most interesting pieces in the Villa is Historic Bench by Rooms Studio in a prelude to an upcoming collaboration between the design office and Maniera. The studio, who first came on our radar last year with Ghaema, a Georgian restaurant in the heart of Milan, is a female-run practice in Tbilisi by Nata Janberidze and Keti Toloraia.

Handcrafted in reclaimed oak, the object is a reference to stone benches that were scattered around Georgia, mostly at bus stops during the Soviet Union. By changing the materiality and context the duo transforms the ordinary bench to convey a new meaning to the forgotten object and blur the lines between public and private space.

Open now, the exhibition runs until May 6th at Hotel Danckaert, Rue Mayerbeer 33, 1190 in Brussels. For more information click here.

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[Images courtesy of Maniera. Photography by Jeroen Verrecht.]