Curated turns us onto this:

“Maarten Baas designed the “empty chair” at the request of Amnesty International in support of their campaign against the suppression of activists and to honor the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Liu Xiaobo. The chinese activist was unable to accept the prize in person due to imprisonment.

Baas’ chair, standing five meters, was unveiled last weekend for the 50th anniversary of Amnesty International in Amsterdam.”

See more over at Curated.

Two special edition t-shirts from Maarten Baas for C’N'C Costume National. “How do you grab your very own limited edition T-shirt to celebrate the meeting between Ennio Capasa and Maarten Baas. It’s easy! You can buy it online at the Costumenational.com store or else at the Via Sant’Andrea boutique in Milan from 21 to 27 April.”

Design bad boy Maarten Baas’ latest project is “The Shanghai Riddle.”  The wooden reinterpretations of plastic furniture is simply amazing.

Here’s what wallpaper had to say:

“The series is in participation with Pearl Lam’s Contrasts Gallery in Shanghai and the result of a scheme set up to introduce European designers to local Chinese practices. Baas took inspiration from time spent observing daily life and culture in Shanghai.

Baas’ interpretation comes in the form of hand-carved elm replicas of plastic mass-produced furniture, highlighting the contrast between treasured Chinese handcraft and contemporary, mass-produced and mass consumed. As with all Baas’ work the unlikely aesthetic is humorous but thought-provoking rather than gratuitous.”

More examples of his work after the jump.