Milan 2012: these knobbly seats by Belgian designer Maarten De Ceulaer are on show at Spazio Rossana Orlandi in Milan this week.

Each piece in the Mutation series is made from foam spheres, cut so they fit together, attached to a frame and coated in rubber or flocked.

De Ceulaer's work is also on show at the Triennale di Milano and as part of IN Residence at Ventura Lambrate.

The Salone Internazionale del Mobile takes place from 17 to 22 April. See all our stories about Milan 2012 here.

Photographs are by Nico Neefs.

Here are some more details from Maarten De Ceulaer:

Mutation Series

The pieces in this series look like they weren’t made by hands, but have grown to their present form organically. They might be the result of a mutation in cells, or the result of a chemical or nuclear reaction. Perhaps it’s a virus or bacteria that has grown dramatically out of scale. The Mutation pieces make you look at furniture in a different way.

Maybe one day we would be able to grow a piece of furniture like we breed or clone an animal, and manipulate it’s shape like a bonsai tree. On the other hand, the project can be seen as an experimental review of classic furniture upholstery. It reminds us of the famous and iconic deep buttoned (Chesterfield) sofa's, interpreted in a highly contemporary and sculptural way.

Instead of upholstering springs and foam with leather or textile, these pieces are created by carefully composing patterns with cut-offs of foam spheres of various sizes, and applying them onto a structure. In the end the entire piece gets coated, with a durable rubber or tactile velvet-like finish. It is hardly possible to ever recreate such a specific pattern, so every piece is completely unique.