Alexander Lervik

Press / 2013

Back to press archive

Dagens Industri

DI

Dagens Industri · 15 years · 1 page

Article scan

Loading article

38

P

NEW SIDES OF DI WEEKEND

Editor:

Henrik Huldschiner ps@di.se

08-573 650 00

WEDNESDAY 2 OCTOBER 2013

SEATING. Designer Alexander Lervik in the chair Spike Chair, which is actually more comfortable than it looks. It is not mass-produced, but exists only as exhibition pieces in museums. PHOTO JOEY ABRATT

A book where you sit

noted and famous chairs. Now 15 of them have become both an exhibition and a photo book.

This year marks 15 years since designer Alexander Lervik made his breakthrough with his graduation exhibition ”10 stools — 10 decades” at Beckmans College of Design. To mark the occasion, he asked 15 photographers to photograph 15 of his self-designed chairs.

The project has now resulted in both a photo exhibition in the designer's studio and a photo book.

”I asked a number of photographers if they wanted to interpret one chair each. The first to be asked were Dawid (Björn Dawidsson), Gunnar Smoliansky, Bruno Ehrs and Hans Hammarskiöld, but Hans Hammarskiöld unfortunately passed away before he had time to take his picture,” says Alexander Lervik.

rock photographer. asked a total of about 20 people and got a few rejections, including from Anton Corbijn, who was working on a new feature film, and from Lennart Nilsson, who thought he was too old. Besides those already mentioned, Annika von Hausswolff and Mats Bäcker stand out, among others. ”In hindsight, I have understood that what sparked their interest was that they were given completely free rein.”

The photographers' fee is a chair.

”I have sent chairs all over the world,” says Alexander Lervik.

Not all photographers get the specific chair they photographed, however. Some are mass-produced while others are made in very limited editions, perhaps around ten.

”Spike Chair and Red Chair are museum pieces in the first place,” says Alexander Lervik.

Difficult to find premises

While it was fairly easy to get photographers interested in the idea, it was harder to find an available exhibition venue on this side of the new year. Since it is precisely 15 years this year since Alexander Lervik graduated from school, he did not want to wait until 2014. Therefore, regular operations are moving out of his studio and Galleri Kleerup is temporarily moving in for just over a week. A kind of pop-up gallery, you could say. The exhibition opens on Saturday.

Designer Alexander Lervik's design chairs are portrayed

Exhibiting in New York The photographs are for sale at prices ranging between 15 000 and 70 000 kronor each.

”Then the exhibition will head on to New York in May and we are holding discussions about showing it in Oslo and around the country.”

So far, the project has only meant costs for Alexander Lervik.

”I use artistic projects to develop my commercial side,” he says.

Alexander Lervik's studio is an old garage and is located on hard-to-access Klevgränd behind Slussen. His most famous product is not a chair, but a handle called ”Brighthandle”.

Most people have probably seen the illuminated handles (red for occupied, green for vacant),

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