Chris Koens

 

Chris Koens is a Dutch designer whose work spans product design, autonomous projects, self-initiated product lines, and commissioned pieces. His designs are marked by a strong sense of playfulness and inventiveness, guided by wonder, curiosity, and his personal narrative. Together with Ramon Middelkoop, he works under the name Koens & Middelkoop Design, creating work for clients such as Royal Delft, Pols Potten, and Vivara. He is also the founder and co-designer of Brikkon, a brand of sustainable wooden toys, and Huckleberry, an international product line developed with Kikkerland that encourages children to explore and play outdoors. Since 2001, Chris Koens has been a lecturer at the Design Academy Eindhoven and a regular guest lecturer at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam.

 

CREATURES

The inspiration for Chris Koens’ recent series “Creatures” comes from wooden animal sculptures that evoke memories of distant travels—like old souvenirs: expertly crafted, yet now outdated. Through this work, Chris reclaims the freedom to explore new forms by sculpting in a physical and hands-on way, working within the constraints of the existing object.

 

He intuitively seeks abstract shapes where only the movement and posture hint at something living. The surface, too, is transformed to give rise to imaginative and intriguing new beings. Like a kind of reincarnation, these creatures occupy the same space in an interior—but instead of pointing to another continent, they open a door to an entirely new, imaginative world.

 

Education

• Design Academy Eindhoven, The Netherlands

 

Exhibitions

• OBJECT 2025 – Creatures
• OBJECT 2023 – Blockheads, Timelab en Wunderkammers
• Salone di Mobili, Milan, 2019