VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents the exhibition Scandinavian Design on view August 26, 2012–January 27, 2013., in the Caroline Wiess Law Building.

Scandinavian Design, from the MFAH decorative arts collection, will highlight furniture, glass, ceramics, metalwork and lighting from the 1920s to the 1970s.

The MFAH first acquired examples of modern Finnish glass in 1954, and in recent years the museum has built on this history by acquiring outstanding objects by architects, designers and manufacturers such as Georg Jensen, Orrefors, Alvar Aalto, Bruno Mathsson, Kaj Franck, Timo Sarpaneva, Tapio Wirkkala, Poul Henningsen, Finn Juhl and Verner Panton.

The objects created by designers active in Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway during the 20th century embody a distinctive aesthetic typified by an emphasis on high-quality design distributed widely through mass production. Often Minimalist, and characterized by clean lines, the Scandinavian design movement originated with a 1950s design show that traveled to the United States and Canada to showcase Nordic designers and the “Scandinavian way of living.”

Scandinavian design influenced the development of Modernism in North America and Europe, and it continues to shape decorative arts today.

Pictured: Kaj Franck, Decanter, model 1500 "Kremlin Bells," designed c. 1957, made 1962, glass, the MFAH, gift of George R. Bunker and Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Keerans, by exchange, and Caroline Wiess Law.