Normann x Brask: A collection that blurs the lines between art and design

Curator Jens-Peter Brask redefines the concept of a collectible and artistic object through his collaboration with the Normann Copenhagen design company.

DS.WRITER:

Σοφία Θρουβάλα

Normann Copenhagen | Image Source: normann-copenhagen.com

On January 24th, Danish company Norman Copenhagen and the well-known art curator Jens-Peter Brask started collaborating on a project titled Normann x Brask Art Collection. The goal of uniting these two forces is the communication and reconciliation of art and design by creating a new collection of ambiguous and aesthetically uncategorized objects.

Normann Copenhagen was founded in 1999 by Jan Andersen and Poul Madsen. The well-known brand is characterised by an ever-increasing experimentation in the design of interior objects, from furniture and lamps to fabrics. The objects they design are sold in more than 80 countries, while to this day the brand is constantly distinguished for the quality of its objects and their design, since in the course of its establishment until today, it has been awarded more than 80 times.

Image Source: normann-copenhagen.com

The special Collection was generated after the invitation by Jens-Peter Brask and -finally- participation of ten Danish and also internationally known artists. Brask curated the exhibition so that the objects exhibited would create a space for the spectator to move around, thus displaying an interesting encounter between the two fields -of art and design- not only regarding the object but also its exhibitional approach.

LOT 08 | Image Source: normann-copenhagen.com

Brask's successful attempt manages to integrate contemporary artists into a single body of architectural functionality and visual form. Although this curatorial approach may bring to mind the beginnings of design and visual avant-gardes, the objects in the collection do not formally refer to either. However, it becomes clear that even today, with much more modern and experimental curatorial proposals, these ideas are still present for anyone in search of them.

The participating artists (Ryan Schneider, Jørgen Haugen Sørensen, Mira Dancy, Greg Bogin, Vincent Dermody, Roma Manikhin, Tony Matelli, Gudrun Hasle, Graham Collins, and Anton Munar) bring together the "intertextuality" between contemporary artistic production - with historical references- and utilitarian design, through an innovative exhibition of the objects in the space. The invitation to the viewer to move around the objects and "play" with them -by placing, for example, mirrors on the floor instead of the wall- creates an interactive mood, which, however, reminds us of the relationship our body has with the furniture at home or in our workplace. The “construction” of the exhibition space through the placement of works-obstacles and surprises reveals Brask's creativity.

Ryan Schneider Bed Cover. Photo courtesy of Normann Copenhagen | Image Source: magazine.artland.com

Design, architecture and art, through this collection, are conceptualised on a level where we no longer talk of objects that are strictly categorised into one of the above categories but acquire meaning once the curatorial proposal “choreographs” them and organises them in a space, constantly imparting new identities and possible uses to them or proposing new ways of viewing and approaching them. Finally, it is interesting that through this collaboration the contemporary need for curation becomes clear, emphasizing its creative side as well as the catalog and its graphic design, which is not just an explanation of the collection but a collector's book that reflects through its design the spirit of the collection.

(You may see th catalogue here.