Born in Australia by Dutch parents Danny Venlet studied interior architecture at the St. Lucas Institute for Architecture and Visual Arts in Brussels which he finished with his degree in 1983. Back home he gained professional experiences in several studios of architecture before collaborating with fellow countryman Marc Newson at the end of the 1980s.

Finally he founded his own studio Venlet Interior Architecture in 1991 and moved back to Belgium. Already at this early stage he went far beyond the pure functional in his designs by giving a sculptural quality to his furniture.

In 1991 he created his `Powder Horse‘ series comprising a chaiselongue and a chair. Deceptively heavy but actually extremely lightweight these dynamically designed pieces of furniture seem to be solid - in fact they are made of aluminium sheets just 3 mm thick and they are hollow inside. Their skin is their structure and these objects get their strength only from the interplay of curves.

This well intended delusive effect is part of Venlet´s design philosophy - his aim is to stimulate the emotions and expectations of the viewer.Similar to these objects he

designed another chair one year later. Named `Gold‘ after its crackled gold and translucent powder coating this design is part of Venlet´s research on the relation between the two- and three-dimensional and on the possibilities of designing strong structures with lightweight materials by using concave and convex shapes.

In this case the illusion of solidity is stressed moreover by a conic piercing that runs through the chair. These fine examples of design/art objects have been made as one-offs and since then Venlet has successfully focussed on other aspects like product and out-door furniture design, interior projects and scenography as well as the design of public spaces.

Today he is regarded as one of the most innovative and influential designers of his adopted home Belgium - but always with the laid-backed attitude so significant for the `down under‘ lifestyle.