Designer Kristine Bjaadal. Photo: www.kristinebjaadal.wordpress.com
At 31, Bjaadal might be young but she is already an accomplished Norwegian designer with a Master’s degree in design from Oslo National Academy of the Arts, now running her own studio in Oslo. With an eye for sustainable yet exciting and playful design, she has received praise for her imaginative ideas in her home country, where she was featured in the Young Talent Award 2010 Exhibition at the The Norwegian Center for Design and Architecture (DogA). Now her “Underfull Tablecloth” and "Underskog Fabric" is part of “The Exceptional Everyday” and shows her unique conceptual approach to design.
A Beautiful Annoyance
About "Underfull Tablecloth" Bjaaland says: “Everyone has experienced that uncomfortable situation of spilling something on a nice, white tablecloth. The idea behind ‘Underfull’ is to turn that negative situation into something positive and beautiful”. The piece depicts a tablecloth stained by a glass of spilled red wine. The stains take the form of a butterfly pattern – turning an everyday annoyance into a magical moment. “Human beings are not perfect, but we aspire to be so. ‘Underfull’ says ‘Relax and don’t take yourself so seriously.’ It is a tribute to human imperfection.”
And that gift of being able to turn something negative into something positive, something bad into something good, is what characterizes Bjaadal’s approach to design. With small surprises hidden in her products, she aims to let the user sense that there is a human being behind the product and focuses on giving the user positive experiences over time. Her second featured item at the Corcoran, the chair ‘Underskog Fabric’ is no exception, with a beautiful forest pattern emerging in the upholstery through wear and tear.
A New Market
Having had her designs on display mainly in Scandinavia, the designer is excited about showing ‘Underfull’ in the U.S. Showcasing it at the Corcoran only makes it better. “To be able to exhibit here is an incredible opportunity to show my work in a different part of the world, a country with a different culture and of course a different market.”
Bjaadal is looking forward to seeing how her work is received in Corcoran's Gallery 31: “I’ve gotten a lot of positive responses from the U.S. after international media coverage. But being able to send my actual work is of course a lot more rewarding, and I am eager to see how Americans react to it”.
One of Ten
Kristine Bjaadal is one out of ten Norwegian industrial designers showcasing their work at the Corcoran from Dec. 21 through Jan. 22. The talented nine all represent the attention to detail typically associated with Scandinavian design and the focus on having a creative collaboration with the user.
On Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 7 P.M., design expert and DogA curator Benedicte Sunde will open a special evening of Norwegian design and fashion at the Corcoran. Sunde will talk about the history of design in Norway and will be followed by a reception and fashion presentation.
For more information on the exhibit, please visit the Corcoran Gallery of Art’s website or check out the nine designers: Kristine Bjaadal, She Design, Stokke Austad, Frøystad+Klock, Blueroom, Innovativoli, Kadabra, Kim Thome, Studio Vibeke Skar in collaboration with Ida Noemi and Anderssen & Voll. You can also read more on norway.org.