Crossing Lines Through Art and Design
During Frieze and PAD London 2026, MAD Brussels and hub.brussels present ‘Crossing Lines Through Art and Design’, a group show bringing together functional art and collectible design
Crossing Lines Through Art and Design features work by a selection of Belgian designers, highlighting the richness and diversity of the Belgian creative scene to an international audience of collectors, curators, gallery owners, and design professionals.
The presentation takes place at an exceptional venue: the residence of the Belgian Ambassador in London. It is accessible by appointment only. This intimate setting creates space for meaningful encounters with the works and the designers.
At the intersection of art and design
In a 19th-century hidden architectural gem, collectible design and functional art come together at the crossroads of furniture, sculpture, and object. The transformation of matter, the tension between weight and lightness, opacity and transparency, and the refined balance between form and function highlight the richness and diversity of Brussels’ creative scene.
The exhibition scenography draws on the architecture of the residence through a subtle composition of fine lines. Rather than competing with the works, it creates a quiet backdrop that highlights the objects and reinforces the dialogue between art, design and the historic setting.
The participating designers
Crossing Lines Through Art and Design brings together both emerging talents and established designers, each with their own distinctive signature style. Together, they represent a new generation that approaches design as a medium for storytelling, sculptural expression and sensory experience.
Barbora Žilinskaitė
Barbora Žilinskaitė is an artist and designer based in Brussels. After graduating in Product and Spatial Design from the Vilnius Academy of Arts in 2019, she developed an independent practice in Brussels. Through a sculptural approach and a strong emphasis on material experimentation, she explores how functional objects can shift into something symbolic and alive through anthropomorphic forms. Her practice questions the divisions between the human and the non-human. Her work is presented by Friedman Benda and is included in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the Odunpazarı Modern Museum.
Nicolas Zanoni
Nicolas Zanoni's works defy traditional expectations of contemporary design. Irregular, handmade and often resulting from accidental encounters with his materials, Zanoni produces functional objects that take the shape of sculptures and vice versa. After obtaining a Masters in Industrial Design at La Cambre (BE), Zanoni dedicated himself fully to the nonconformist attitude of experiment and instinctive manipulations of materials. Working with industrially produced materials such as polystyrene or aluminium, Zanoni sets out to explore the limits of physical manipulation. Improvisation and freestyling are key. Zanoni welcomes accident and surprise in his creative approach. Although his designs could be perceived as sculptures, it is their inherent functionality and peculiar materiality that facilitates physical contact and a relationship with its user.
Xavier Servas
Xavier Servas is a visual artist and object designer based in Brussels. He worked as a designer in Vietnam, where he contributed to the preservation of local craft traditions. Upon his return to Europe, he became active within the makers’ community as a consultant and fab manager. Since 2019, he has developed an independent artistic practice. His research focuses on traditional craft techniques, which he confronts with contemporary issues. Drawing inspiration from archaeology and ethnology, he explores how pre-industrial materials can regain relevance today, developing a poetic visual language centred on timelessness and imperfection.
Lila Farget
Lila Farget studied sculpture at ENSAV La Cambre. After completing her studies, she specialised in the complex technique of glass casting. Glass became her favourite material and forms the basis of her sculptural research. She works exclusively in monochrome, with colour and light taking centre stage. Construction is a key concept in her body of work: her sculptures are built up from successive layers that create volume and form. Since the early 2000s, she has also been collecting cardboard packaging from consumer goods, which she reinterprets in glass. From her studio at Zaventem Ateliers, she combines glass and bronze casting to create sculptural lighting and furniture pieces.
Joe Sterck
Joe Sterck is a Belgian designer who operates at the intersection between furniture and sculpture. With his experimental approach, he questions the globally accepted rules and tendencies regarding contemporary design and explores the boundaries of the functional. Alongside this, he constantly strives to reinvent himself by investigating existing materials and developing new techniques.
Maxime Halot
Maxime Halot is a Brussels-based furniture designer. His research focuses on exploring the possibilities of metal processing, including shaping, surface treatment and material manipulation. He develops bending and assembly techniques to give his creations light, elegant curves with multiple interpretations. He creates sculptural furniture with architectural forms, the result of the use of custom-designed tools. His creations play a perpetual game between the concepts of lightness and heaviness, or fullness and emptiness. Guided by a belief in shared resources, Maxime Halot is the initiator of Atelier Bardaf, a shared workshop where emerging artists and craftspeople collaborate and share materials.
Maarten De Ceulaer
Maarten De Ceulaer first studied Interior Design at Sint-Lukas in Brussels and continued his studies at the Design Academy Eindhoven. A strong passion for travelling inspired his graduation project A Pile of Suitcases, which was immediately picked up by Nina Yashar, founder of the renowned Milanese gallery Nilufar. Maarten is known for the evocative, poetic and playful touch he gives his objects. He continuously explores new materials and investigates production techniques and crafts. The emotional aspect of objects is equally important as the functional. His work is held in private and public collections and has been exhibited in museums, festivals, biennials and fairs worldwide.
Natalia Brilli
Natalia Brilli is a Belgian designer whose work exists at the intersection of fashion, art, and object design. Since 2003, she has been known for wrapping everyday objects in leather, transforming the ordinary into creations imbued with meaning and mystery. Her universe draws from Surrealism, fetishism, folklore, and her Belgian-Italian heritage. Her leather-clad creations are part of the collections of prestigious institutions, including MoMu in Antwerp and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Since 2021, she has broadened her practice by creating objects, tapestries, ceramics, and furniture, often crafted from recycled objects, furniture, and leather. Represented by galleries in New York and Geneva, she regularly collaborates with architects and has developed numerous projects with the architectural duo Studio KO.
Practical information
The presentation ‘Crossing Lines Through Art and Design’ takes place at the Belgian Ambassador’s residence in London, 36 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8QB. The presentation is open on Thursday 15 October and Friday 16 October from 10.00 to 16.00.
The presentation is by appointment only. To plan a visit, mail to rsvp@mad.brussels.
This event is part of the Belgium is Design initiative, which aims to promote Belgian design internationally.
Claudia