MILAN 2007: BREEZE SIDE TABLE by SWEDESE
by Adele Chong
The veteran furniture manufacturer Swedese is notoriously associated with classic Swedish style in their Scandinavian homeland. Since its founding in 1945, Swedese has run in the same circles as fellow Scandinavian design pioneers such as Arne Jacobson and Alvar Aalto in its quest to create sensible and ecologically-evocative design. At the Salone Internazionale del Mobile this year, their simple yet stunning work proved that the initial appeal of ‘Scandanavian Modern’ had yet to fade into the sidelines. A particularly notable piece in the exhibit this year was their Breeze side table designed by Monica Forster.
A modernist-inspired composition, Breeze was softened with a rippled edge on one side of the table top, creating a sense of unexpected vulnerability within the hard edges of the overall design. Swedese solidified its commitment to sustainable development when it was awarded the ISO 14001 certificate from the Swedish Government in 2002. The certificate is only alloted to companies who continually strive to improve their manufacturing process in light of environmental preservation.
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As I see it, Swedish Modern has always been about an intuitive sense of classic proportions and understated elegance. This approach has enabled Swedish Modern furniture to transcend the limitations of seasonal style, and therefore to be continhously relevant, or ‘in style’, since its inception decades ago. The problem with this table, for me, is that it ‘breaks ranks’ with this approach. The ripple of the wood surface of this Swedese side table seems to break the golden rules of Swedish Modern design. Maybe that’s a good thing ? Maybe not ? So is it still ‘Swedish Modern’ or it something else ?
I think that the dining table and chairs in the last photo are more exemplary of what has always defined Swedish Modern design. Maybe the groupings subtle use of bolder color, as well as the chairs not being all of the same color, or style, is part of the subtle ‘updating’ their classic approach ?
However, the chairs do seem a bit squeezed together in order to accomodate the usable space allowed by the diagonal table legs… which seemingly exemplifies ’style’ over ’substance’… which has never before, to my knowledge, characterized Swedish Design ?