Mathias Rasmussen

Mathias Steen Rasmussen (born 1990) is a young Danish designer with a seasoned and rigorous approach to furniture design. He has a background in art and cabinetmaking and completed his apprenticeship in 2019 with the highest honors. When working on his own designs, his philosophy is honesty in construction. This means keeping the design process open to what an object consists of and how it is constructed, often with an affinity for showcasing the naked grain of the wood and visible joints.

Rasmussen started at the Jutland Art Academy in 2012 seeking a way to express himself aesthetically. He soon realized that his purpose lay in woodwork and creating objects for a specific use rather than in artistic experimentation.

As a trained cabinetmaker, wood is usually Rasmussen's point of departure. He often brings in other natural materials such as glass, stone, and rope as textural contrasts, resulting in an aesthetic dialogue between colors, techniques, and surfaces. With an earnest respect for his materials and a keen sense of balance in form and function, his work respectfully nods to mid-century Danish design.

Other sources of inspiration include the complexity of Japanese culture as well as the minimalist movement, and in particular artist Donald Judd's ability to identify the essential. These influences have a close kinship with Rasmussen's extended process of simplifying and refining an idea before settling on its final form.

A keen practitioner of meditation, Rasmussen finds many of his ideas when he clears his mind of mental chatter and creates space. Starting with lines and curves that create a subtle geometry, he corrals them into a functional relationship, constantly iterating and optimizing the design in every way. Finally, he resolves the construction of each element, always striving to achieve aesthetic harmony and keeping in mind the visual and practical possibilities of his materials.

With his passion for durable, accessible, and detail- oriented design, Rasmussen's aesthetics are a natural match for GUBI.