Contemporary Swedish Silver
New approaches to an enduring tradition
Curated by Inger Wästberg.
Artists: Erik Tidäng, Lena Jerström, Tobias Birgersson, Klara Eriksson, Petronella Eriksson, Pernilla Sylwan, Maki Okamoto.
www.lod.nu
The oldest known Swedish silver mine dates from about 1360. Having reliable sources of the metal is but one reason for the success of Sweden´s silversmiths. Another of greater importance is the high quality of their education, primarily through the Konstfack (University of Art Craft and Design). At Konstfack all the participants in the exhibition got their higher education.
LOD – a group of seven silver artists who share a combined studio and a gallery in Stockholm – seeks to keep silver production alive and create a higher interest for their skills. The silver is handled without gloves to demonstrate that it is not something to be put away in a closet, but be used all the time in daily life. They are revising the appearance of traditional products. Good examples are Klara Eriksson’s bowel and whisk. And why not have a sink stopper in silver and rubber?
“You have to create a teapot before you are a real silversmith”, says Petronella Eriksson. In the exhibition several teapots are reworked and given new shapes as in Erik Tidäng´s constructivistic or Petronella Eriksson´s soft and organic form. To merge materials as a method breaks down previously established hierarchies. Lena Jerström mixes silver, cork and textile in her teapot and Klara Eriksson tree branches and silver.”
(Inger Wästberg)
Inger Wästberg is an art historian, has a master exam on contemporary jewellery. She has in different positions worked with information and advocacy. She has been a member of Stockholm city council, vice chairman of Stockholm University, senior advisor to the minister of Social Affairs and director general for the Office of the Disability Ombudsman. She is a member of The Global Leadership Council at The Museum of Arts and Design, New York and a member of the advisory board at Ädellab, University College of Arts, Craft and Design, Stockholm. Inger Wästberg has also written books on disability legislation and on New York.