AFTER A BRIEF CAREER AS AN ACTOR AND DANCER, DIRK MEYLAERTS STUDIED CABINETMAKING AT ARTS ET MÉTIERS IN BRUSSELS, BEFORE BECOMING AN INDEPENDENT CABINETMAKER AND DESIGNER FOR OVER 25 YEARS.

IN 2006, HE FOUNDED D&A LAB, PRODUCING LIMITED SERIES OF FUNCTIONAL OBJECTS DESIGNED BY CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS. IN 2012, HE BECAME PRODUCTION DIRECTOR AT THE FONDATION DES GALERIES LAFAYETTE IN PARIS, WHERE HE COLLABORATED WITH VARIOUS ARTISTS BEFORE RETURNING TO HIS FIRST LOVE: FURNITURE DESIGN. THIS RETURN COINCIDED WITH HIS MOVE TO THE FRENCH COUNTRYSIDE WITH HIS FAMILY DURING THE 2020 HEALTH CRISIS.

“I CONSIDER MYSELF NEITHER A DESIGNER, NOR AN ARTIST, NOR EVEN AN ARTISAN, BUT PERHAPS A MIXTURE OF ALL THREE,” HE STATES.

DIRK WORKS PRIMARILY WITH SOLID WOOD, FOCUSING ON A PROCEDURAL AESTHETIC. HIS FORMS ARE THE RESULT OF RESEARCH INTO HOW TO WORK WITH SOLID WOOD AND LET IT GUIDE THE CREATION PROCESS THROUGH ITS OWN REQUIREMENTS.

SHARING A SIMILAR IDEOLOGY TO THAT OF PIERRE CHAPO AND OTHER MAJOR FIGURES OF THE MODERNIST MOVEMENT, DIRK MEYLAERTS POSSESSES A DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORK OF HIS PREDECESSORS, ALLOWING HIM TO INFUSE HIS CREATIONS WITH A TOUCH OF MODERNITY.