Gaggenau Recasts the Built-In Oven as a Minimalist Sculpture Personifying Precision and Craftsmanship
The recently introduced Expressive series obscures technical elements to create a refined appearance of simple, perfected shapes
For the artists who pioneered Geometric Abstraction, such as Piet Mondrian and Josef Albers, the grid represented a clean contrast to Abstract Expressionism’s spontaneous gestures and a means to translate their ideas into Bauhaus precision. The rigorous beauty of straight lines, tight angles, and unifying symmetry still inspire a range of creative fields.
One such parallel can be found in the kitchen, where Gaggenau’s professional-grade appliances embody a strict minimalism but with dashes of cutting-edge, industrial elegance. The recently introduced Expressive series—the German manufacturer’s first new collection of built-in appliances in nearly two decades—obscures technical elements to create a refined appearance of simple, perfected shapes.
Central to its crisp look is its novel “two frames, one circle” design: an outer border anchoring the oven, an inner surround layering smoked glass over hand-finished, brushed stainless steel, and a floating control knob. The passe-partout presentation is both sculptural and symbolic, says Marine Danze, product owner on the design team, “like a gallery frame elevating what matters most: the culinary creation.
The control knob—“crafted like a piece of jewelry,” says Danze—wakes with proximity and emanates a soft amber glow as the oven heats. Materials also reinforce the sensory experience: Brushed stainless steel concealed beneath smoked glass resists fingerprints, reflects light, and creates dazzling contrasts when paired with warm wood cabinets or sleek stone surfaces.
Achieving such visual purity demanded virtuosity. Beyond hiding hinges and minimizing joints, designers refined alignments to dizzying degrees of specificity. One breakthrough involved positioning broiling elements behind the enamel, an innovation that required months of research to ensure even heat distribution.
The latter means everyone from a Michelin-starred chef to an everyday home cook can achieve restaurant-worthy results with ease and style. “We preserved the best from our current series,” Danze says, “but sculpted it into a piece of art.”
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2025 Fall Issue under the headline “Taking Shape.” Subscribe to the magazine.