The Recognizable Simplicity of Scandinavian Design

The recognizable touch of simplicity and functionality is the prevalent note at the exhibition taking place at the Arts and Crafts Museum: Scandinavian Design - Beyond the Myth. The exhibition is open to the public from 23 September to 18 November.

After hosting a series of major exhibitions and numerous concert and theater events this year, between 23 September and 18 November the Arts and Crafts Museum will be the venue of a traveling exhibition, Scandinavian Design - Beyond the Myth. The event brings to Zagreb over 200 exhibits representing authors from Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden and a selection of their works ranging from applied arts to industrial design.
 
Scandinavian design boasts a tradition that spans over half a century. Because of its recognizable simplicity and functionality, it is known in the history of design as one of its key elements. Although the initial interest in its concept was lost with the surge of postmodernism in the 1970s and 1980s of last century, Scandinavian design went through a revival and the eyes of the world were once again turned towards this concept which had been developed by contributors from all the Nordic countries. The exhibition consists of two parts. The first one illustrates the early period in Scandinavian design, and the second one shows those objects that unite the elements of Scandinavian design with the archetypal image of Nordic countries. The traveling exhibition was commissioned by the Nordic Council of Ministers and organized by the National Museum of Oslo. Since 2003, it has toured a number of European towns - Milan, Gent, Prague, Budapest, Riga, Glasgow, Copenhagen, Goteborg, Oslo, Vigo, Corunna and Sophia. It has now reached Zagreb to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Scandinavian design.