An exhibition on exquisite crafts co-created by Swedish designers and Taiwanese lacquerware artisans is now open at the Form Design Center in Malmoe, the third largest city in Sweden. The 35 craft works are the results of a special program last year that invited five Swedish designers — Gabriella Gustafson, Matti Klenell, Stina Löfgren, Carina Seth Andersson, and Mattias Ståhlbom — to visit Taiwan and work on research and development in crafts.
The program incorporates the extraordinary experiences and skills of Taiwanese lacquerware artisans with the modern Western aesthetic concepts of the Swedish designers. The designers were hosted by the National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute in Nantou, and their collaboration with local artists resulted in new outlooks on traditional craft items such as furniture.
Lacquerware is a delicate, ancient, and unique handicraft that requires a long and complicated process, including body-making and coating, in order to achieve its signature luster and sheen. Lacquerware can have bodies made of a wide range of materials, such as ceramic, wood, bamboo, vine, paper, pearl, and stone, adding further versatility and innovation to the age-old craft.
The 35 lacquer creations from the program were displayed in a well-received exhibition at the Östasiatiska Museum in Stockholm in 2014. This year, after it ends its run in Malmoe on April 15, the exhibition will continue to tour other European cities, including Gothenburg in the west of Sweden and the French capital Paris.
'A New Layer'
Taiwanese lacquer art seen through Swedish eyes
Date: Feb. 15 ~ April 15, 2015
Venue: Form Design Center
Address: Lilla torg 9, Malmö, Sweden
Website: www.form.de/en/news/a-new-layer
