An exhibition at Stockholm’s NK department store sets out to explore the identity of contemporary Scandinavian and Nordic design. Curated by Norwegian design studio Kråkvik&D'Orazio, the exhibition (on view until 18 September 2022) combines emerging designers and established brands, collaborations between Scandinavian makers with creatives of different disciplines and explorations of materials and techniques.
‘For many of the designers included, the material is the starting point,’ comment curators Jannicke Kråkvik and Alessandro D'Orazio. ‘It could be a celebration of a certain material, a way to make use of leftover materials or a search for new applications for an overlooked material.’
Examples of designs in wood, from left: chair by Philippe Malouin for SCP, table by Hysteria Objects, red chair by Fredrik Paulsen and black side table by Further Ther
Several of the examples on display include a celebration of raw materials and local manufacturing, including the examples of wood manufacturing by the likes of Vaarnii, whose brutalist furniture is made of Finnish pine, or the Made in Local collaboration between Japanese Ishinomaki Laboratory and Menu on wooden AA-stools.
But the exhibition is also an opportunity to explore different facets of what is a traditional Nordic aesthetic. Axel Wannberg’s pieces, made of mappa burl in his Stockholm studio represent a more expressive approach to cabinetry, in contrast to a more traditional definition of Scandinavian design. Similarly, Thomas Sandell’s intarsia cupboard for KFK Snickeri explores the possibilities of the technique, and was made especially for the exhibition.
Pieces on display include Axel Wannberg’s pieces, made of mappa burl (in background)
Contemporary makers are shown alongside pieces that highlight different facets of tradition, such as The Sverre Fehn collection by Norway’s Fjordfiesta, for the first time available to a wider audience.
‘This exhibition is part of our commitment to play an active role as hosts to the design week,’ says Hanna Nova Beatrice, project manager of Stockholm Design Week and Stockholm Furniture Fair. ‘We want to mirror what's happening in the Scandinavian design industry.’
Stools by Hank Grüner for Made by Choice
On platform, from left: sculpture by Elsa Unnegard, chair by Nick Ross with Niko June, stools by Are Mokkelbost. In the background is a blue bench by Westblom Krasse Arkitektkontor
Table and chair from the Sverre Fehn collection by Fjordfiesta, Drei lamp by Katrin Greiling
INFORMATION
Moving Forward is on view until 18 September 2022
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