smow blog compact: Women Pioneers – Swedish Design in Between the Wars @ Nationalmuseum Design, Stockholm

Horribly denigrating as the term “Swedish Grace” unquestionably sounds, it is a well meant phrase coined to refer to the classicist art and design movement that developed in Sweden in the 1920s and 30s: a movement which served as a bridge between the Art Nouveau-esque national romanticism of the early 20th century and the approaching functionalism, and which thus in many respects paved the way for the Scandinavian interpretation of international modernism as so magnificently presented at the 1930 Stockholm Exhibition. And thus, and by extrapolation, also contributed to the development of the non-existent but widely quoted organic Scandinavian style of the post war years.

Among the movements leading protagonists were Simon Gate, Edward Hald, Gunnar Asplund, Ivar Tengbom and Carl Bergsten.

So all men. Obviously.

As in, obviously rubbish.

Now as we’ve noted before we’re no fans of the encroaching of gender studies into every aspect of contemporary society, nor are we particularly vocal adherents of feminism, do however find that the history of architecture and design is a far too patriarchal, more of hi(s)story than a history, and genuinely welcome any serious attempt to redress the balance, such as the Nationalmuseum Design Stockholm’s exhibition Women Pioneers – Swedish Design in Between the Wars.

Featuring some 150 works by 20 female artists and designers from the 1920s and 30s Women Pioneers promises to be one of the most fulminate explorations of the contribution made by female creatives to the development of Scandinavian functionalism ever presented.

And thus sounds well worth a visit.

In addition Women Pioneers is running parallel to The New Map which featured in our 5 New Design Exhibitions for December 2015 post.

Quite frankly, what’s not to like!

Women Pioneers – Swedish Design in Between the Wars runs at Nationalmuseum Design, Kulturhuset Stadsteatern Sergels torg, Stockholm until Sunday February 14th

Full details can be found at www.nationalmuseum.se

Coffee set by Sylvia Stave for C.G Hallbergs Guldsmedsaktiebolag (Photo Anna Danielsson, Courtesy of Nationalmuseum)

Vases by Anna-Lisa Thomson for Gefle Porslinsfabrik & Upsala-Ekeby AB (Photo Photo Anna Danielsson, Courtesy of Nationalmuseum)

Brush by Wilhelmina Wendt, 1935 (Photo Per-Åke Persson, Courtesy of Nationalmuseum)