Sabine Marcelis
Sabine Marcelis (b. 1985) is a Dutch designer whose practice is defined by a poetic investigation of materiality, colour and light. Born in Alkmaar and raised in New Zealand from the age of ten, her early exposure to dramatic natural landscapes – the shifting colours of sky, sea and snow – formed a sensibility that would later shape her design language. After beginning her studies in industrial design at Victoria University of Wellington, she returned to the Netherlands to complete her degree at the Design Academy Eindhoven, graduating in 2011.
From her Rotterdam-based Studio Sabine Marcelis, she works across furniture, lighting, objects, installations and large-scale public sculptures. What unifies her diverse output is a rigorous focus on how materials behave: how they refract, diffuse or hold light; how transparency and opacity can interact; how surfaces can be softened, sharpened or transformed through colour and process. Marcelis is known for pushing manufacturing techniques from within, working closely with fabricators to alter or intervene in production processes so the material itself becomes the central experience. Her signature aesthetic is characterised by minimal, sculptural forms often rendered in resin, glass, polished metals and high-gloss finishes — objects that appear simultaneously solid and ethereal.
Her work has been exhibited internationally and is held in major museum collections including MoMA in New York, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and the Vitra Design Museum. Key projects include No Fear of Glass at the Barcelona Pavilion (2019), where she reinterpreted Mies van der Rohe’s iconic architecture through layered glass and resin interventions. Recent years have seen her move into civic and architectural scales, with works such as Panorama (2024), a kinetic outdoor installation of mirrored glass columns in Atlanta, and The Vondel Fountain in Amsterdam (2024), which reimagines a historic site through contemporary material expression.
Marcelis has received numerous accolades, including Designer of the Year at the Dezeen Awards (2024), following earlier recognitions from Wallpaper* and the Elle Deco International Design Awards. Her practice continues to evolve toward increasingly immersive spatial experiences, yet remains grounded in her enduring fascination with the transformative power of light, colour and material.
Works
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