“I am fascinated by the scale, materials, and colors of a city”, Vanderbeke explains. “I like the mix of different styles, heights, and rhythms.” Where others might see chaos, he finds cadence—something that he replicates in his own practice; crafting pieces by hand from industrial materials, each designed with repetition and rhythm of a city in mind.
The connection between building as a trade and Vanderbeke’s practice is powerful; its presence evident in the striking, but unlikely material forms that his work takes. “My grandfather was a bricklayer,” Vanderbeke tells us, “and as a kid, I was always building things with stones out of his atelier. For me, it was a very logical choice to go to a technical school where I learned to work with my hands. When I went to Design Academy in Eindhoven I rediscovered the workshops and learned to materialize concepts by making. I still work as a maker and I’m also sure that my fascination with industrial materials comes from my background. I love to use bricks, concrete, and reinforcement steel to build things.”
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