Josef Frank’s textile print ”Baranquilla” returns to Svenskt Tenn

The classic textile print Baranquilla by Josef Frank is now reintroduced by Svenskt Tenn. It was designed in 1943-1945 and most recently produced in the 1980s. The textile is displayed in a new interior exhibition created by Austrian architect Claudia Cavallar, who is also an authority on the works of Josef Frank.

In the midst of the World War, following the Nazi occupation of Norway and Denmark, Josef Frank and his wife Anna elected to leave Stockholm for America and Manhattan. En route to their destination, they stopped at the Colombian port of Barranquilla before arriving at New York in December 1941.

”During the New York period, Josef Frank created many of his most imaginative patterns. One of these was Baranquilla, named after the city they had passed as they fled to the United States. The pattern’s basic element is winding liana, blended with fanciful flowers and fruits which recall the colours and flora of tropical rainforest.” says Thommy Bindefeld, Marketing and Creative Director at Svenskt Tenn.

In conjunction with the reintroduction of Baranquilla, Claudia Cavallar and Svenskt Tenn have collaborated to create several interiors for an exhibition where the pattern is featured using both of the available color schemes.

”When I created the “Baranquilla” exhibition, I had an imaginary character in mind. I envisioned this person moving from a warm and possibly exotic place, where the interior has not been allowed sufficient space, to an entirely new environment at Strandvägen in Stockholm,” says Claudia Cavallar.

Claudia has previously contributed to the acclaimed Josef Frank exhibition ”Against Design” at MAK in Vienna, which is currently presented at ArkDes in Stockholm.

The Baranquilla exhibition is shown at Svenskt Tenn, Strandvägen 5 in Stockholm, from April 5 through May 28.