DANISH PREDICTIONS:A Collection Curated by Pil Bredahl for NYCxDESIGN
“Collaboration, passion, and curiosity – this is what I want to investigate with this collection. The last years have shown us that there is no time for elusive and soulless creations. Designers must always be present and inventive to be able to come up with new ideas or new ways to make use of old ideas.”
– Pil Bredahl, curator of DANISH PREDICTIONS
All product images courtesy of the designers; 3D renders © ADORNO
Experience the “DANISH PREDICTIONS” collection as part of NYCxDESIGN, 11-18 November. This collection is presented in partnership with NYCxDESIGN and has been produced with support from Statens Kunstfond.
Nature returns to the recognisable skyline before us. Hints of the glass, concrete, and metal structures evident through the lush vegetation as it flourishes in this future setting. Here, we are presented with a not entirely utopian utopia. A New York that is biodiverse, green, and full of natural spaces for shared cultural experiences. High above the streets of this imagined Manhattan amidst the foliage and fog, a collection of design objects point to the future through their use of sustainable materials, collaborative methods, and interwoven commentaries. Our path is defined around the rooftop, where an atmosphere of playful, yet inventive thinking is presented alongside the clean lines and timeless forms generally associated with Scandinavian design.
Looking towards the future, “DANISH PREDICTIONS” brings the work of nineteen Danish designer-makers together to explore how new Danish design and craftsmanship can predict and analyse societal trends and values through artistic expression. Curated by Pil Bredahl for NYCxDESIGN 2021, the collection celebrates creativity and inventiveness, highlighting practices that reinterpret old ideas and develop new ideas in order to establish possibilities for the future. Virtually presented at the center of a nature-filled Manhattan, the selected pieces reflect on this future setting through their use of local and biodegradable materials; collaborative creation; continuation of craft traditions; and commentaries on the consequences of modern consumption. In effect, through their practices, the participating makers contemplate how society shapes their work and how their work can shape society.
This collection features work by Alexander Kirkeby, Andredottir & Bobek, Anna Havskov Jensen, Anne Brandhøj Hansen, Anne Nowak, Annelie Grimwade Olofsson, Bjarke Ballisager, Bonnie Hvillum, George William Bell, Jacob Mathias Egeberg, Kevin Hviid, Kristine Engelbrecht, Lea Nordstrøm Pedersen, Pettersen & Hein, Rasmus Højfeldt, Signe Fensholt, Sisse Holst Pedersen, studio YOLK, and Tanja Kirst.
Interview with collection curator Pil Bredahl
What are the main themes presented across the pieces in “DANISH PREDICTIONS”?
Collaboration, Compassion, Curiosity, and Passion is what the last years have shown me as topics we need to focus on to get through the biggest challenges. So, these four words are the headline of everything that has to do with this collection.
In selecting pieces for this collection, what innovative techniques, materials, or methods of creation were you immediately drawn to?
When I wonder what is imminent in the landscape of design, I see some future answers in this collection. The way the designers use biodegradable materials; generations working together in one company, celebrating diversity like studio YOLK does. Or designers commenting on pollution as a consequence of our consumption as Annelie Grimwade does in her disturbing, yet beautiful work.
I have been drawn to processes where the designers use classical handicraft methods, refining their work through thousands of hours in the workshop in order to create a modern expressive and personal statement.
Wild nature is reintroduced to New York City’s recognisable skyline in “DANISH PREDICTIONS”. Why have you chosen this scenography for the presentation of this collection?
The utopia-like, beautiful near-future vision aligns with the collection because it is not entirely a utopian utopia. New York is becoming a more and more green city and the city has a history of being a first mover when it comes to art and culture. I think this could be a realistic roof top view in 15 years.
What do you predict the future has in store for contemporary design in Denmark?
I have always believed that what we surround ourselves with shapes us.
Today it’s something I know as a fact. There is no time, or space, for elusive and soulless creations. [In the future,] I predict we will not accept environmentally damaging production and indifferent products without meaning, soul, functionality, or beauty.
If the viewers of “DANISH PREDICTIONS” could take one concept or piece of information away from it, what would you want that to be and why?
Perhaps it is more a perspective on life that I would like us to keep in mind. The designers in this collection are – in my eyes – present and inventive. They have to be, so that they can be able to come up with new ideas or new ways to make use of old ideas and they have to stay sensitive and playful. That state of mind is a concept for all of us to strive for.
“DANISH PREDICTIONS” is kindly supported by:
