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Household whimsy
Swedish designers prove that coat racks don't have to be dull
By Roger Hamilton
A question often posed in the world of design is, “does it wear well?” The concern is that something might appear fresh and innovative now, but how will it look after being viewed over and over, perhaps for years?
Some schools of design not only wear well, but become classics. There is perhaps no finer example than the stunning—decade-after-decade—output of Scandinavian workshops and factories.
This is why the IDB Cultural Center’s Art Gallery, well-known for its exhibits of fine paintings, original crafts, and splendid antiquities, has now presented the public with such pedestrian items as chairs, spatulas, pots, and clocks.
The exhibit, called Strictly Swedish, opened a day after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. With smoke still rising from the Pentagon across the Potomac River, Swedish Ambassador Jan Eliasson at the dedication ceremony called the show “a tribute to normalcy, to sanity, to daily life.”
The objects in the exhibit are striking examples of the Scandinavian genius for balancing form with function. Inexpensive, everyday objects, they have the power to turn an ordinary home into a gallery and the homeowner into a patron of the arts. “These objects are not destined to magnify the ego or show off an overblown self-esteem, or even demonstrate the financial status of the individual,” writes IDB Curator Félix Angel in the exhibit brochure.
Objects created by Scandinavian designers began showing up in homes, offices, and even airports around the world in the 1950s and quickly became a dominant influence in the world of design.
The past decade has seen a Scandinavian design renaissance with the advent of new materials. The IDB show primarily highlights the work of young Swedish practitioners who are currently setting standards for the contemporary design movement. Most have received national and international recognition for their work.
At the opening reception, Ambassador Eliasson called the show “a little pearl in the middle of Washington in these sad times.” In its review of the exhibit, The Washington Post added: “It is that and something more: a heartening example of human endeavor intended to enhance the lives of others–quietly, efficiently and beautifully.”
Date posted: October 2001
Two-screw wonder…
