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Hella Jongerius – Breathing Colour, Design Museum London. Photo: Luke Hayes.
Hella Jongerius – Breathing Colour, Design Museum London. Photo: Luke Hayes.

Press release -

Hella Jongerius – Breathing Colour at Nationalmuseum

The exhibition Hella Jongerius – Breathing Colour opens at Nationalmuseum in Sweden on October 17th. Internationally renowned star designer, Hella Jongerius displays her many years of artistic research into colour, light and materiality. The exhibition will be open to press Wednesday October 16th.

Art and design are configurations of colour, light, form, shadows, reflections and materiality. The Hella Jongerius – Breathing Colour exhibition is ensconced in the borderline between art and design. It presents a visual examination of how colour and light interplay and change during all hours of the day. In forms of paper, textiles, ceramics, metal and plastics, internationally renowned star designer, Hella Jongerius displays her many years of artistic research into colour, light and materiality. As a designer, she often questions the perfunctory views of design manufacturers and the use of colour in the development of products. Jongerius argues that this leads to our missing out on aspects and experiences of the world around us. Her study is deepened in the meeting of the works of art she has chosen from Nationalmuseum’s collections.

After the renovation of Nationalmuseum, the museum exhibits art against coloured walls and integrated so that painting and sculpture meet textiles and ceramics from the same period. The colour schemes in the different rooms is the result of long-standing studies conducted by the museum into how colour, art and design interplay with the goal of giving the objects a context that increases their degree of visual attraction. In presenting Hella Jongerius – Breathing Colour to the audience hopefully will lead to increased reflection and discussion about how colour influences us and our experience of the world.

The exhibition is developed in partnership with the Design Museum, London where it was on show during summer 2017. In summer 2018 it was on show at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. The exhibition in Stockholm has been made possible by the generous support of Nationalmusei Vänner.

The exhibition Hella Jongerius – Breathing Colour will be presented at Nationalmuseum from October 17, 2019 to February 9, 2020.

Press preview
Media is invited to a press preview of the exhibition on Wednesday 16 October 11 am. Hella Jongerius will be present. RSVP by 14 October to press@nationalmuseum.se. Please note that accreditation is needed to participate.

More information
Hanna Tottmar, Head of press, press@nationalmuseum.se, +46 (0)8 5195 4400

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Nationalmuseum is Sweden’s museum of art and design. The collections comprise older paintings, sculpture, drawings and graphic art, and applied art and design up to the present day. The museum building has currently been renovated and reopened in autumn 2018. Nationalmuseum has partnerships with Svenska Dagbladet, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, The Wineagency and the Grand Hôtel Stockholm.

Contacts

Head of Press

Head of Press

Press contact Hanna Tottmar +46 (0)8 5195 4400

Welcome to Nationalmuseum Sweden!

Nationalmuseum is Sweden’s museum of art and design. The collections include paintings, sculpture, drawings and graphic art from the 16th century up to the beginning of the 20th century and the collection of applied art and design up to the present day. The total amount of objects is around 700,000. .

The emphasis of the collection of paintings is on Swedish 18th and 19th century painting. Dutch painting from the 17th century is also well represented, and the French 18th century collection is regarded as one of the best in the world. The works are made by artists such as Rembrandt, Rubens, Goya, Boucher, Watteau, Renoir and Degas as well as Swedish artists such as Anders Zorn, Carl Larsson, Ernst Josephson and Carl Fredrik Hill.

The collection of applied art and design consists of objects such as ceramics, textiles, glass and precious and non-precious metals as well as furniture and books etc. The collection of prints and drawings comprises works by Rembrandt, Watteau, Manet, Sergel, Carl Larsson, Carl Fredrik Hill and Ernst Josephson. Central are the 2,000 master drawings that Carl Gustaf Tessin acquired during his tour of duty as Sweden's ambassador to France in the 18th century.

Art and objects from Nationalmuseum’s collections can also be seen at several royal palaces such as Gripsholm, Drottningholm, Strömsholm, Rosersberg and Ulriksdal as well as in the Swedish Institute in Paris. The museum administers the Swedish National Portrait Gallery at Gripsholm Castle, the world’s oldest national portrait gallery and the Gustavsberg collection with approximately 45,000 objects manufactured at the Gustavsberg Porcelain Factory. Nationalmuseum also curates exhibitions at Nationalmuseum Jamtli and the Gustavsberg Porcelain Museum.

Nationalmuseum is a government authority with a mandate to preserve cultural heritage and promote art, interest in art and knowledge of art and that falls within the remit of the Swedish Ministry of Culture.