A new exhibition titled 17 Swedish Designers is opening at the Nordic Heritage Museum on Friday, June 3, featuring the recent work of young, progressive women working in contemporary industrial and interior design.
From the press release:
More than 60 examples of high design in the form of furniture, textiles, glass, and ceramics represent innovative development of objects for everyday use.
“This is a great opportunity to see cutting edge Swedish design: furniture, textiles and household objects as unique and extraordinary as the women who designed them,” said Eric Nelson, CEO of the Nordic Heritage Museum. “If you know Scandinavian design, you’ll want to see this exhibit. If you don’t know Scandinavian design, you need to see it.”
Since the 1950s, Scandinavian design has been celebrated throughout the world for pioneering functionalism, streamlined aesthetics, and relative affordability. Historically, Swedish design has been a largely male-dominated realm; with an increasing number of women choosing the design profession in recent years, however, greater diversity in the field has emerged. Early in their careers, all seventeen participating designers exhibited at Gallery Pascale, Stockholm's first gallery devoted exclusively to design. The exhibition—based on gallery founder Pascale Cottard-Olsson’s book, 17 Swedish Designers (released in Stockholm on Women’s Day, March 8, 2007)—displays the designers’ recent work. Talented women of the same generation (all born between 1960 –1970), the designers share a common worldview, displaying an impressive versatility, a fearless desire to experiment, as well as determination and dedication in turning visions into reality.
Participating designers include Pia Amsell, Carina Seth-Andersson, Lena Bergström, Camilla Diedrich, Monica Förster, Front, Anki Gneib, Nina Jobs, Anna Kraitz, Lotta Kühlhorn, Anna Lerinder, Ulrika Mårtensson, Anna von Schewen, Eva Schildt, Sara Szyber, Pia Törnell, and Barbro Wesslander. Participating companies from Sweden include Gärsnäs, Design House Stockholm, Källemo, IKEA, Offecct, Orrefors, Nola, Swedese, Rörstrand, and Materia.
The U.S. tour has traveled to San Diego, Las Vegas, Washington, D.C., New York, and Chicago, among other cities. “If there was one exhibition I longed to see last year, it was 17 Swedish Designers.” . . . Miyoko Ohtake, Editor, Dwell Magazine.”
On Friday, June 3 at 10:30 am, the Nordic Heritage Museum will present a special “Meet the Designer” event with Swedish graphic designer and illustrator Lotta Kühlhorn. Kühlhorn, one of the designers featured in the 17 Swedish Designers exhibition, is best known for her bold and colorful illustrations and patterns for textiles, home furnishings, and book covers. In addition to her own line of home furnishings for Koloni Stockholm, Kühlhorn designs numerous book covers every year for some of Sweden’s largest publishers, and has created a line of textiles for IKEA. She is currently working on an illustrated book about her patterns. Participants will have the opportunity to enjoy coffee and Scandinavian treats as Kühlhorn discusses her work. After the presentation she will take the group through the exhibition. The cost for the event is $5 for NHM members, $7 for non-members.
This exhibition was produced by Svensk Form, the Swedish Society of Crafts and Design, in collaboration with the Swedish Embassy and the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation.
For more information, visit www.nordicmuseum.org.
