On a trip to Japan in 2007, I had the idea for the exhibition ”Second Nature – a Danish-Japanese Design Exhibition”. The exhibition aims to reflect the mutual fascination between designers from the two countries, despite their very different cultural traditions.

As is true for many designers, Japanese design, art and culture have always fascinated and inspired me. In fact, it has been as important a source of inspiration for me as have Danish furniture design and other Danish design classics.I was initially fascinated by the ability of Japanese design to incorporate all details, and not the least, by the subtlety of expression, patterns, buildings, even traditional lunchboxes. In other words: The ability to make even the simplest thing appear virtually flawless in its completion.

It was also a dramatic revelation when I realized just how important the deeply-felt wish to be at one with nature is in Japanese cultural traditions. Along with being part of the theory of the classical Japanese approach to minimalism, it is also an essential part of Japanese culture. It is a trait implicit in the modern forms of expression and in modern, as well as in traditional, lifestyle. The experience made me reflect on the deeper motives behind Danish design, craft and architecture.

I am generally fascinated by design, crafts and architecture, which succeed in ”creating” something eternal. As a designer and a consumer of design what is important to me is to be able to feel the soul of an object, its beauty, simplicity, surprise and intimacy. What is interesting in my view is how the object interacts with its time and surroundings.

This dimension always seems to ring true in its topicality, because it inspires and makes us all think, regardless of whether we are designers, manufacturers, environmentally conscious consumers or politicians. Who are we? What are we doing? And why?

The participating designers, craftspeople, creators and architects all belong to a young and innovative generation. They have been chosen with aesthetics and professional criteria in mind, and the group are connected through their idiom and their affiliation with minimalism, as well as common sources of inspiration. All exhibitors are skilled craftspeople, all innovative and future oriented – all of which makes for a compelling combination. In this catalogue, the participants have described their own works in their own words.

This exhibition is meant as a supplement to and a commentary on the surrounding exhibition scene – a window that focuses on the fascination for and the relationships among design, architecture and craft.

The Japanese designers have been selected in collaboration with Miriam Hinman Nielsen, anthropologist and curator.

Anne-Grete Duvald
Designer and curator of the exhibition