I visited the exhibition ‘Chair takes a stand’ (23 September – 14 January 2023) in the Centraal Museum in Utrecht. Of course I visited this exhibition. The first room was in a sense reserved for the slatted armchair, also known as the Red-Blue chair, by Gerrit Rietveld‘. This room with all kinds of very diverse appropriations and interpretations of this design convincingly illustrated the considerable impact of this design. Dutch comedian Claudia de Breij, for example, appears to have used it in the decor of one of her shows. In this case the ‘set piece’ was covered with newspaper clippings. Contemporary designers started and continue to run with it. One of the more drastic and actually moving versions is by designer Maarten Baas. In his smoke series he attacks various iconic furniture and more with fire. He treats the blackened remains with a resin so that the object, weakened by the fire, becomes sturdy and therefore usable again. He also did that years ago with this Rietveld icon. Weeks later, back in my studio, the idea arose to blend the two together and treat both versions equally. Baas and Rietveld in the blender, so to speak.