Martin Visser, born in Papendrecht in 1922. He was born with a love for art and became a great art collector. His collection includes work by Cobra, Kiefer and Keith Haring. The Kröller-Müller Museum has 400 of these objects in its collection.
After the MTS, Martin Visser started at the Bijenkorf after 5 years as purchasing manager. From 1955 to 1974 he worked at ‘t Spectrum (a subsidiary of Weverij de Ploeg). At ‘t Spectrum, he coordinated the production of furniture and designed the famous BR02 sofa bed, the chairs SZ01, SZ07 and the well-known SZ63 himself.
During his 19 years at ‘t Spectrum, he linked big names with this company such as: Gerrit Rietveld, Friso Kramer, Hein Stolle, Koh Liang Ie and Benno Premsela.
From 1978 to 1983 he worked as a curator of modern art at Boymans-van Beuningen in Rotterdam. In the 1980s, inspired by art and his wife Joke van der Heijden, he designed a few more pieces of furniture (Unica and small series), he tries out new shapes and materials such as cardboard and perforated steel plate.
In 1998 Visser’s design career was awarded the Oeuvre Prize for design from the Fund for Visual Arts.
He passed away in 2009.
Check out our items by Martin Visser:
Kiwi Green sofa bed br03 – Martin Visser – ‘t Spectrum
Article number 7168 The Martin Visser sofa bed is an iconic design from the early 60s. Martin Visser designed this classic for ‘t Spectrum (the Netherlands). The design of this sofa has sleek lines, but the sofa provides a lot … Continued
Light blue Martin Visser sleeping sofa
Article number 7163 Famous three-seater sofa made by ‘t Spectrum in the Netherlands in the 60s. This sofa bed is designed by Martin Visser. It is restored with new HR foam, has black lacquered metal legs, and is re-upholstered in … Continued
Sofa bed br02 – Martin Visser – ‘t Spectrum – Kvadrat
Article number 7078 Martin Visser designed the br02 sofa bed in the 60s for ‘t Spectrum (the Netherlands). With a simple hand movement you can turn the sofa into a single bed. This Design Icon has a round chrome tubular … Continued
Martin Visser sofa bed br02 – Spectrum – Kvadrat Hallingdal
Article number 7069 Martin Visser designed the br02 sofa bed in the 60s for Spectrum (the Netherlands). With a simple movement you can turn the sofa into a single bed. This Design Icon has a round chrome tubular frame. The … Continued
Martin Visser sofa bed – ‘t Spectrum – Kvadrat
Article number 7017 The br03 sofa bed was designed by Martin Visser for Spectrum (the Netherlands) in 1960. This model with the square black metal frame is one of the first versions of this sofa bed. With a simple hand … Continued
Martin Visser sofa bed br03 with Kvadrat Hallingdal – ‘t Spectrum
Article number 5794 Iconic Dutch Design sofa bed br03 by Martin Visser. Designed for ‘t Spectrum in the early 60s. This model with a square chrome frame is one of the first versions of this sofa bed. With a simple … Continued