Artek and Daniel Rybakken reflect on the future at Stockholm Furniture Fair

Last month, Artek celebrated a century of Finnish independence with some glossy Alvar Aalto reissues launched at IMM Cologne, while also revealing a host of exciting new collaborations. Then, at Maison et Objet, the brand worked with longtime collaborators Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec on a new hand-drawn fabric design.

Most recently, at Stockholm Furniture Fair, it has sparked up a fresh partnership with Daniel Rybakken for two new collections, marking the Norwegian designer's first official foray out of lighting and into the wider world of furniture design.

The ‘Kiila’ storage and seating collections are unmistakably Artek; flat-packed, heavy-weight and engineered with finesse. But Rybakken brought a personal touch to the project. ‘I wanted to identify what constitutes an Artek product and reflect on those qualities without delivering something that was pastiche or a copy of Aalto,’ he explains.

Comprising a coat stand, coat rack, podium and bench, ‘Kiila’ is a fine example of Artek and Rybakken's melding of art and technology. All of the fixtures are exposed and double as coat hooks, while maintaining refined angles.

‘Kiila’ coat rack.

For the 124° series of mirrors, Rybakken drew upon the experiments with natural light that he uses for his lighting collections. As the name suggests, the mirrors are bent at a specific angle to give a reflection that is not your own. Rybakken explains to Wallpaper* that he is playing on consciousness; you know you won't see yourself, but your subconscious is still surprised when you look.

Both collections were displayed in an installation at contemporary dance theatre MDT in Skeppsholmen. A space that usually holds performances, Artek appointed Berlin architects Meyer-Grohbrügge, who riffed on the setting with a theatrical layout that saw the mirrors floating on a circular set.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Artek website and Daniel Rybakken website