Meet the Curator: PIL BREDAHL, Copenhagen

Pil Bredahl graduated in Product and Furniture Design from The Danish Design School (now the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Design), and earned a Master’s Degree in Design Theory in 2013, writing her a dissertation on design and sustainability. Since then, she has worked in the experimental sector of the design industry, occasionally making forays into more political domains. She was part of the Scandinavian, female-only design group “Kropsholder,” which was founded in the late 1990s, and has recently been working with design as a tool for integration among women immigrants. She is also a co-founder of the design group FairTradeDesigners.com, created in 2007, which uses the design profession as a social lever to explore and promote sustainable development processes.

What are the special characteristics of the contemporary design community you are a part of?

Denmark is one of Europe’s smallest nations, and yet Danish design continues to make its mark internationally. We see a new national Danish design power that is grounded in utilitarian, very democratic thoughts of welfare, cross-cultural sampling, and a desire to return to natural materials.

Describe the overall vision that shapes your curated portfolio.

The use of natural materials and an emphasis on handmade craftsmanship define the first collection from Denmark. I have chosen designers who create their works on their own, producing projects that can be seen both as works of art and at the same time as typical examples of functional Danish design. The Scientific and sensuous way Jonas Edward works with his materials in the Gesso project, or the almost architectural approach Kristine Engelbrecht takes with her wall pieces are good examples of this.

How do the designers currently represented in your gallery embody this?

Danish craft and design have a distinctly innovative approach to integrating abstract ideas with form and function. At Adorno, I will be focusing on the special influence that craftsmanship and physical design can have on our lives and behavior. I am interested in objects and products that contain something important – designs that contain elements beyond the purely aesthetic.

See the Copenhagen curation:

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