About

Exhibition Tour USA 2009-2011

17 Swedish Designers – all young, progressive women – are touring in the United States. Their ceramics, furniture and textiles show, in black and white with some bright accents, hints at the flavors of good contemporary design for every day use. They demand form, function, quality and a feeling of lust.

Early in their careers, all 17 designers exhibited at the small Gallery Pascale in Stockholm. Pascale Cottard-Olsson is a French women living in Sweden who has an instinctive ability to spot talented designers.  She describes her ten years of action in the book 17 Swedish Designers, chez Pascale.  The exhibit, based on the book, displays the various individual designers’ recent work.

Since all seventeen are talented women of the same generation, they share a common worldview, displaying an impressive versatility, a fearless desire to experiment, as well as determination and dedication in turning visions into reality.

Swedes are reputed pioneers in innovative design and demonstrate great diversity within the field. Minimalism and practicality are important, and designers are often consumer conscious. Swedish design used to be largely male dominated, but with increasing number of women choosing the design profession, the concept of design has changed; women have incorporated a more sensual vision characterized by female experiences.
Internationally, Swedish designers have contributed, independently and in collaboration with global talent to develop designs using new material and cutting edge production methods.

In the U.S. interest in Swedish design is strong and an exhibit featuring women has long been due. In collaboration with the Swedish Embassy, Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation and Svensk Form, the Swedish Society of Crafts and Design, we are happy to present the exhibit at different venues during 2010 and 2011. To give more context and depth, the designers have willingly agreed to share their work in lectures or workshops, after invitation from the exhibition venues.

Description

The exhibition consists of 3-10 products from each of the seventeen designers. The products range from small items such as porcelain and glass to textiles
and furniture. Space needed is flexible, preferably 60-100 m2. The exhibition is accompanied by the book 17 Swedish Designers - chez Pascale (in English), a presentation-poster (text), a large poster featuring all the seventeen designers, display-signs presenting the products and the designers and a leaflet written by Hedvig Hedqvist. Participating furniture companies from Sweden, among others; Gärsnäs, Design House Stockholm, Källemo, IKEA, Offecct, Orrefors, Nola, Swedese, Rörstrand and Materia.

Participating designers

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

Tour Plan

2009

6 Nov- 23 Dec Reinberger Galleries, The Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland

2010

29 Jan- 30 May The American Swedish Inst, Minneapolis. 10 Jun- 30 Aug, The Swedish American Inst, Chicago.

2011

January, Consulate of Sweden/World Market Centre, Las Vegas. 17 Feb - 27 March, Swedish Embassy/House of Sweden, Washington DC, 3 June - 21 Aug, Nordic Heritage Museum, Seattle. Sept - Nov, American Swedish Historical Museum, Philadelphia.

Additional exhibition venues may be added.

Follow the tour at www.svenskform.se/17swedishdesigners