Re:form: Contemporary Swedish Art Crafts

Swedish and Scandinavian design are famous around the world for being modernist, strict and blond. Crafts from the Scandinavian countries show the same influences but are created by artists living in close contact with nature and with a profound understanding of the technical possibilities and the aesthetic potential of the natural materials. This Swedish and Scandinavian style was established internationally back in the fifties by illustrious figures like Tapio Wirkkala from Finland, Sweden's Tyra Lundgren, Denmark's Vibeke Klint and others. These were craftspeople who created simple, natural forms in which the material appeared almost in its original state in a way that the rest of the world experienced as almost shockingly exotic. Their crafts were designed to be used as well as looked at and their function was always readily apparent. Now things have changed. Towards the end of the century there was growing protest against the purity and functionality of Swedish crafts.