Dutch Design Office Chair by Geke Lensink for Brothers and Sons, 2000s

Geke Lensink is a Dutch furniture and ceramics designer, whose minimalist, bold aesthetic celebrates a matter-of-fact functionality.

Born in Eibergen in 1963, Lensink graduated from ArtEz University of the Arts in Zwolle in 1988 and established her own studio in Amsterdam that same year.
For the first 20 years of her career, Lensink worked as an interior architect, specializing in exhibition design for cultural and commercial briefs; however, since 2008, she has been focused on designing furniture and ceramic tableware in her own studio.

Motivated by the thought of combining the capabilities of today’s technology with a return to to the core worth of a product in an increasingly complex world, Lensink has a simplified approach to the design and production process, favoring pared-back shapes in innovative materials that exude a sense of pure functionality over complicated conceptualization.

While much of Lensink’s work is commissioned and produced industrially, she regularly collaborates with craftspeople to produce limited edition pieces. A notable past collaboration was with designer Jesse Visser in 2012 when they took on the roles of Art Directors and designed the whole collection for Dutch brand Brothers and Sons. The Alumni Chair (2015), which was designed with Jesse Visser for Brothers and Sons, was in fact awarded Best Product during the annual Dutch interior design fair, Design District in Zaandam. The Giraffe Table (2014), designed also in collaboration with Jesse Visser was recognized by Design District the year prior to this.

Lensink’s designs are easily recognizable for their broad wooden frames and graphic silhouettes. Chairs and stools are often accented with flowing geometric lines, offering a visual resting place as much as a physical one. Indeed, Lensink’s pieces adhere to a strict minimalist code but it is this apparent simplicity that makes her work stand out. The designer’s work is regularly presented at the Salone del Mobile in Milan, as well as numerous exhibitions and events in the Netherlands, London, Stuttgart, Paris, and Cologne.