Size matters at ‘Petit’, a new exhibition opened last week at the Maison du Danemark in Paris. Members of The Cabinetmakers’ Autumn Exhibition were tasked with creating furniture no wider or taller than 60 centimetres for the show, resulting in a small but elegantly formed collection by the likes of Norm Architects, TAF, Space Copenhagen and more.
The nomadic exhibition began its journey last September on the outskirts of Copenhagen at the Øregaard Museum in Hellerup. The Danish museum, conceived by architect Joseph-Jacques Rameè originally as a summerhouse for the wealthy Søbøtker family, served as inspiration for the exhibition’s theme, as well as the French word petite.
Tina Sommer and Marie Berri’s slender ‘Doublé’ console, an optically charged piece spliced in half with a mirror, takes it cues from the Øregaard Museum’s symmetrical architecture. Monique Engelund, meanwhile, was spurred by an experience at the museum during sunrise for her ‘Rise & Shine’ vanity table, and Ditte Hammerstrøm responded to the brief with a miniature, pastel-pink cabinet seemingly plucked from a Wes Anderson film.
Elsewhere at the show, Stockholm-based studio TAF dished up a svelte tray-table; Jeremy Walton opted for a downsized reimagining of Bagatelle, a billiards-derived indoor table game with roots in French aristocracy; and Danish firm Norm Architects kept things simple with a three-legged, stackable folding chair. The latter is also responsible for the exhibition design, with each of the pieces presented individually on mirrored podiums – a nod to notions of identity and personal image, as well as a tongue-in-cheek boast that the products are beautiful enough to be viewed from below.
The Cabinetmakers’ Autumn Exhibition, or Snedkernes Efterårsudstilling (SE), is a non-commercial collective comprising 80-odd furniture manufacturers and designers. It aims to bring Danish furniture culture to the fore through collaborative projects staged annually, with exhibitions open to guest designers. And, as its latest venture proves, big things do come in small packages.
’Arche’, by Ralph van de Made, for Hinnerup Aps; and ’Petit Secret’, by Thomas Bentzen, for Kvist Industries A/S
'Hibernation', by Christina Strand, for Andersen Furniture; and 'Smaating', by Ditte Hammerstrøm, for Labrador v/rep by Niels Højlund Rasmussen
'Bagatelle – a decorative little nothing', by Jeremy Walton, for Malte Gormsen; and 'Petit Piedestal', by Iskos-Berlin, for Træmuseet – Museet for Træbearbejdning
; 'Champagne', by TAF, for Trip Trap by Skagerak
'Pause', by Norm Architects, for Christian Juhl; and 'Tricorn', by Mia Lagerman, for Kvist Industires A/S
'One-Two Chair', by Niels Hvass, for Møbelsnedkeri Kjeldtoft; and 'La petite abstraction', by Mathilde Witt Mølholm, for We made it
; and 'La Petite Poule Rouge', by Jakob Kamper, for Davinde Savværk
'Offline', by Rasmus B Fex; and 'Cabinet', by Space Copenhagen, for Malte Gormsen
INFORMATION
’Petit’ runs until 3 April 2016. For more information, visit The Cabinetmakers’ Autumn Exhibition website
ADDRESS
Maison du Danemark
142 Avenue des Champs-Élysées
Paris
TELEPHONE
33.1 56 59 17 40
-
The moments fashion met art at the 60th Venice BiennaleThe best fashion moments at the 2024 Venice Biennale, with happenings from Dior, Golden Goose, Balenciaga, Burberry and more
-
Crispin at Studio Voltaire, in Clapham, is a feast for all the sensesNew restaurant Crispin at Studio Voltaire is the latest opening from the brains behind Bistro Freddie and Bar Crispin, with interiors by Jermaine Gallagher
-
Vivienne Westwood’s personal wardrobe goes up for sale in landmark Christie’s auctionThe proceeds of ’Vivienne Westwood: The Personal Collection’, running this June, will go to the charitable causes she championed during her lifetime
-
AI and creativity: Louisiana museum considers the human in the machine‘The Irreplaceable Human’ at Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark asks what creativity is in the age of AI
-
Wallow in Ragnar Kjartansson’s epic riffs on Nordic melancholia at Louisiana Museum of Modern ArtIcelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson brings his ‘Epic Waste of Love and Understanding’ to Denmark’s Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (until 22 October 2023)
-
Esben Weile Kjær’s zany tribute to 1990s teenage rebellionArtist Esben While Kjær, a rapidly rising star in the Danish art world, has just unveiled a radically curated show of the Arken Museum for Modern Art’s collection
-
‘Light & Space’ at Copenhagen Contemporary: ‘moving art without moving elements’On view until 4 September, epic group show ‘Light & Space’ explores the past and present of the iconic light and installation art movement. It’s physical, emotional, bodily and disorientating
-
At home with artist Jeppe HeinEven in a period of social distancing, the art world continues to turn. In our ongoing series, we go home, from home, with artists finding inspiration in isolation. Reached in Berlin, Jeppe Hein looks back on a decade of mindfulness and reflects on changing oneself in order to change the world
-
Carsten Höller advocates the virtues of confusion in two major Denmark exhibitionsThe German artist (and erstwhile scientist) is staging complementary surveys at Copenhagen Contemporary and the Kunsten Museum of Modern Art Aalborg
-
Chart art fair explores our material world in CopenhagenThis year’s edition opens up new conversations about materiality, physicality, presence and our shared existence
-
Alexander Tovborg’s glass mosaic shows Copenhagen Airport in a new lightA vast commission by the Danish artist injects a healthy dose of colour into Terminal 2’s newly revealed extension
