Curatorial Statement

Denmark is one of Europe’s smallest nations, and yet Danish design continues to make its mark internationally. Throughout history, design has played a major role in Danish culture, as a tool for implementing effectively utilitarian, democratic practices in which a good quality of life is a natural-born right, and not a privilege. Today, Danish designers continue to embrace this principle, creating works whose aesthetic power is matched equally by their functionality. We also see a prominent use, or re-use, of natural materials, which is also part of the Danish emphasis on green, sustainable design. Many Danish designers also integrate a dimension of crossover into their work, as seen in the first Danish collection, bridging fields of design or craft: a renowned fashion designer creates wall pieces; a textile designer produces hand-crafted art pieces, and a furniture designer explores the scientific extraction of local materials.