Kinfolk magazine launches Copenhagen gallery with exhibition of European design
Lifestyle magazine Kinfolk has launched its own gallery space in Copenhagen with an exhibition of rainbow-coloured room dividers, computer-generated chairs and a striped Memphis-style bench (+ slideshow).
Designers from across Europe contributed 15 pieces to the Reform Design Biennale, which focused on challenging tradition and uncovering new processes.
The Kinfolk gallery opened on 4 June in the Danish capital, where the magazine is now based. The gallery builds on the magazine's increasing presence as an influential force in the world of design.
Furniture at the Reform Design Biennale included Danish duo Krøyer-Sætter-Lassen's reinterpretation of a blacksmith's stool, which was shown alongside a beech wood and brass hammer designed by the pair, and Rasmus Warberg's wooden and steel Mido sideboard.
Copenhagen architect Kevin Hviid – who previously designed a chair shaped like a giant bow tie – contributed a multicoloured bench made from tubes of iron and brass and inspired by the colours and graphic shapes of the Memphis Group.
Fellow Copenhagen designer Camilla Monsrud also created furniture for the exhibition, showing a trio of purposefully irregular stools crafted in partnership with Parkinson's sufferers.
Meanwhile, Eddie Olin took a less literal approach, designing a set of digital chairs, which were shown in the gallery as prints.
Lighting highlights from the show were shard-like lamps created by Johnasen Faurschou, geometric limestone lighting designed by Jakob Friis Ingemansson and shaped in a French fountain, and cylindrical concrete floor lamps created by Mathias Weber.
Design studio Cillevenberg contributed a room divider made of hand-dyed hanging yarn, while Anna Aagaard created a conceptual brass and leather breathing apparatus that would rely on plants to cleanse the air.
The show was curated by Trapholt Museum CEO Karen Grøn, RUM editor Mette Barfod and furniture brand Brdr. Krüger's Jonas Krüger.
The Reform Design Biennale was set up in 2014 and founded by designers Maria Bruun, Jens Dan Johansen and Rasmus Bækkel Fex as a chance for craftsmen, artists and fellow designers to challenge thinking by experimenting with new processes and technology.
"Reform is an opportunity to rewind in a business with a lot of fast forward," said textile designer Margrethe Odgaard, who designed a coloured acrylic glass window frame for the exhibition.
"Any given object with a story can be reformed, and any given time needs reforms," she added. "It is important to question the things that surround us and ask ourselves if we can do different and better."
The Reform exhibition ran from 9 to 27 June. The Kinfolk Gallery is at Amagertorv 14, 1st floor
1160 Copenhagen K.