Exploring Colour in Copenhagan
New perspectives on Scandinavian Design at 3daysofdesign
What do you think of when you think of Danish Design?
Is it the refined silhouette of a wishbone chair, deceptively effortless in its simple organic beauty, yet constructed masterfully with more than 100 separate production stages? Or perhaps it is Arne Jacobsen’s Egg chair, soft and cocooning, a true masterpiece in linear elegance?
These sophisticated, and often quite serious, examples of Danish design have a distinct focus on form. Colour becomes secondary to their linear purity, and some critics even take the stand point that it dilutes or detracts from their artistic brilliance.
When we consider Danish design, it is not always conducive with colour. There is an associated eccentricity or a frivolity which perhaps doesn’t sit right with the modest or egalitarian aspects of Scandinavian culture. Knowing this, imagine my surprise when I attended the 3daysofdesign festival earlier this month and was met with a celebration of colour throughout the city, attended talks and discussions about the subject and experimental workshops.
So what’s wrong with colour?
During the festival, renowned colour theorist David Batchelor explored our Western rejection of colour in modern art and architecture in the courtyard of the Montana Furniture showroom. He discussed how throughout art history colour has often been cast as a dangerous element - as ‘other’; oriental, feminine, infantile, vulgar, cosmetic, and always as secondary to the purity of form and line.
Previously in the day, I had observed that my bright orange shirt was the only smear of colour in an entire showroom of well behaved crème boucle and grey Sørensen leather. In that Montana courtyard I felt as though I had arrived at my support group, shoulder to shoulder with the other outliers living with Chromophilia.
Visual storyteller Sarah Gottleib and textile designer Margrethe Odgaard discussed with Batchelor the theory that language has a part to play in the design communities general rejection of colour. Our language surrounding the topic can be reductive, when what we are truly experiencing is incredibly nuanced and somewhat subjective. For example, one might state that ‘Blue is calming.’ - but which blue? Can you think of example of an exhilarating blue? Or a foreboding blue? Language does not do colour justice.
Forward thinking Danish brands such as GUBI, Muuto and HAY have taken a new perspective on Scandinavian design, harnessing the power and energy that colour can provide in ways which revive their collection year on year, bringing a fresh and contemporary vibrancy to the countries design pool.
I left Copenhagen with a renewed appreciation for those experimenting with colour. This ‘risky’ business takes a leap of daring confidence, faith and surprising vulnerability, but has the potential to be incredibly powerful and transportative.
Words by
Natasha Muirhead
Creative Director, NCstudio