Alexander Lervik

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Svenska Dagbladet

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Svenska Dagbladet · 15 years · 1 page

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SvD Magasinet Saturday 21 September 2013

DESIGN

FORM TRANSFORMED INTO PHOTO ART

Fifteen years, fifteen chairs, and now – as many pictures taken by some of the world's most renowned photographers. Alexander Lervik had a crazy idea that became a book, an exhibition, and also delivers a blow to dull product photos.

Text: ERICA TREIJS PHOTO: PATRIK ENGSTRÖM

ALEXANDER LERVIK Alexander Lervik was born in Stockholm in 1972 and studied interior design at Beckmans School of Design. He has created a number of award-winning products and interiors, where among others "Lucy folding table" from 2012 was awarded the Red dot design.

The British gentleman Martin Parr usually photographs absurdities, or possibly the shortcomings of everyday life. He has secretly photographed the upper class and illustrated the attributes of the middle class – cynicism and misanthropy are not infrequently present in his pictures. And all of it is most often heightened by angry flash light. That the Magnum photographer Parr would now have depicted Alexander Lervik's armchair "Jefferson" from 2004, could it be true?

– He is absolutely in the book. I first invited some of my favorite Swedish photographers – Dawid, Gunnar Smoliansky and Bruno Ehrs. They were each to take a picture of one of my chairs and the payment was getting to keep it in exchange for me being allowed to do whatever I wanted with the picture. To my surprise, everyone took the bait, tells Alexander Lervik.

With boosted self-confidence, the designer and architect also dared to look beyond Sweden's borders – Vee Speers, Lynn Goldsmith and Mary Ellen Mark – all accepted the challenge of creating an artistic interpretation of Lervik's functional creations.

Which pictures have surprised you the most? – Brendan Austin's work with my swing is magical. And Mary Ellen Mark didn't send one picture, but 35 – all with dogs. I was of course also surprised by Andreas Ackerup who chose to pose naked with my chair "Cabin".

FACTS The exhibition "Alexander Lervik 15x years, 15x photographers, 15x chairs", in collaboration with Galleri Kleerup, opens in the designer's studio on Söder in Stockholm on October 5.

The project itself also raises questions regarding the image's role as a bearer of a commercial message. While neighboring fields like fashion or architecture have created their own genres where the image has an intrinsic value, design or form has remained stuck in pure depictions. Alexander Lervik's project exposes no new products; instead, the products are interpreted by photographers and artists who put them into another context. Whether this will increase their value remains to be seen. But several of the pictures definitely have a communicative value and some achieve artistic merit.

That Martin Parr chose a simple composition where the armchair casts a proper drop shadow on the wall was expected, but for Alexander Lervik the project has rather been about dispelling any darkness where certain products fall into oblivion. Now a large part of his production is gathered in book form, and together with Galleri Kleerup, photographs and chairs will be exhibited.

– The big gain for me has been the dialogue with the photographers. I have learned enormously much, and a driving force for me is to constantly try to develop, says Alexander Lervik.

erica.treijs@svd.se

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