Born in 1978 in Arnsberg, Germany, Baas graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2002 and quickly established a unique position in the field. Drawing on his graduate research into beauty and imperfection, he created his breakthrough work Smoke, in which he charred furniture and preserved it in resin—an experiment with nature and transformation. His Clay series embodies artistic vulnerability, with every piece handmade. Baas is perhaps best known for his Real Time series, 12-hour films in which performances mark the passing of time, merging theatre, art, film, and design. These works brought him international acclaim.
Baas’ work is represented in major private and public collections worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Les Arts Décoratifs, Paris; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar; the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; the Pinakothek der Moderne – Die Neue Sammlung, Munich; and the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.
In 2009, he was named ‘Designer of the Year’ at Design Miami/Basel. In 2012, The New York Times included both Smoke and Clay in its list of the ‘Top 25 Design Classics of the Future’. In 2016, he won the ArtPrize for Real Time: Sweepers Clock.
Alongside his independent practice, Baas has collaborated with leading international brands including Louis Vuitton, Swarovski, Hermès, Dior, Isabel Marant, KLM, Schiphol Airport, Dom Ruinart, and Berluti. In 2017, his first monograph, Hide & Seek, was published to coincide with a major solo exhibition at the Groninger Museum, Netherlands, which continues to tour internationally.
