Alexander Lervik

Press / 1998

Back to press archive

Form

Form-Examensarbete2

Form · Portraits & interviews · 1 page

Article scan

Loading article

- I wanted to do something I would never get the chance to do after school. Play around a bit...

Alexander Lervik stands in the middle of his room of stools at Beckmans design department – the result of the "play": the 20th century, symbolically portrayed in furniture form. By Lotta Jonson

Photo Helén Pe and Patric Johansson

ALEXANDER LERVIK'S STOOL STUDY COULD WITHOUT doubt be called "The year's most ambitious graduation project". At first he planned to make one piece of furniture for the entire century. But in the end it had to be one stool for each decade, which of course was also an impossibility. And yet not. Every era has its own distinct characteristics, even if one period glides into the next.

No, it is not about copies – rather a personal interpretation of the different spirits of the 20th century, here in the century's eleventh hour.

— I have tried to empathize with how people thought when they designed during different periods. I have learned an incredible amount, among other things about what various historical events meant for design. During the wars, for example, not much new was created stylistically. But on the materials side, quite a lot happened...

He took a thorough approach. Visited museums, sat in libraries, read books and magazines, watched films. Pasted pictures on large posters, searched for lines and threads backward before he began sketching.

— In film, you experience an entirety. Jacques Tati's "Mon Oncle" was a real kick. And when I struggled with the 70s, "Saturday Night Fever" helped me get going. It might have ended up the stylistically weakest stool, but it became sweaty. Like John Travolta. Then I looked at cars, fashion, and into art books. What happens within the design field often begins in art.

Alexander Lervik had the most trouble with the 70s and 80s. Perhaps because that time is too close to him; he was born in 1972.

— It has been really fun to see people's reactions to the different expressions of time. A lot of people like that one, he says, pointing to the 60s pouf. I have received many orders for that. Personally, I have a feeling for the 90s stool. It's somehow the most me.

Below: The 80s, according to Alexander Lervik. Clear-varnished sheet steel, seat in polyether and fabric. Lustrum/Zero made the model.

Above right: A fragrance from the turn of the century. Inspirations: Mackintosh and Frank Lloyd Wright, among others. Black lacquered wood. Prototype: Swedese.

Right: A fragrance from the turn of the century. Inspired by Mackintosh and Frank Lloyd Wright, among others. Wood painted black. Prototype by Swedese.

Below: The 80s, according to Alexander Lervik. Varnished sheet steel, with a seat of polyether and fabric. Model made by Lustrum/Zero.

MOBLER & INREDNING FURNITURE & INTERIOR DESIGN |

AFTER THREE YEARS AT BECKMANS DESIGN DEPARTMENT, is one fully trained then?

Well, you never really are, Alexander Lervik believes. But for now, that's enough school for a while anyway. In a couple of years it might be time to take another course. Abroad perhaps, at St. Martin's in London or Domus Academy in Milan.

Instead, he and three classmates (Erik Envall, Pia Nixholm, and David Skoog) are starting a small design firm with an office on Wargentinsgatan in Stockholm. They will work individually, but also on joint projects.

— We have learned marketing. I have had contact with many companies, not least ahead of the stool project. Last summer I traveled around to different companies in Småland and knocked on doors. No one shut the door in my face. Everyone says I'm quite good at talking for myself. That's possible. Starting your own business is of course risky, but I have to take the chance. Now while people might recognize me.

— It is exciting precisely because we have such different directions.

I have already developed some small items and can manage the production myself if needed. But the administrative work must not take up too much time.

FORM 4/1998 27

English translation of the original article. Text read from the scanned original; small transcription errors may occur.