The exhibition Danish Chromatism – curated by Signe Byrdal Terenziani and presented at Milan’s Triennale Design Museum – was designed by the Italian-Danish architect duo Gam Fratesito to allow visitors to experience a different relationship between classic and modern products.

The combination of old and new designs brings a new edge to the classic icons, while highlighting how contemporary designs of Denmark draw on the masters’ strong traditions of craftsmanship.

Hundred-year-old chairs were placed next to new ones and linked by colour.

“Danish Chromatism” introduced a selection of traditional and contemporary design from 30 Danish companies in an innovative and unusual chromatic interpretation.

Danish Chromatism creates a meeting point between products, space and color – the result being an impressive installation, where visitors were projected to Danish design in a sensory experience.

Enrico Fratesi + Stine Gam

‘Danish furniture is so well known for its use of natural wood, we wanted to give it a new context by telling a colour story.’ … Stine Gan

The concept was inspired by the work of Josef Albers, whose paintings explored coloured boxes within boxes, and played with the interaction of colors on different spatial levels.

The exhibition featured four coloured spaces – black, red, grey and blue. While each space presents a distinct design universe of its own, they are clearly related as one is placed like a box inside the next.

‘We wanted it to feel like you were almost entering one of his paintings,’ says Terenziani. ‘Colour is powerful on its own, but can be even stronger alongside another tone.”

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“Traditionally Danish design is associated with wooden furniture and natural color. In this exhibition, we want to reinterpret the traditional aesthetics through the use of color – to create a new experience of the relationship between the classic and the modern products,” says the architects Gam Fratesi.

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“With Danish Chromatism, I want to provide a shared platform for promoting Denmark and the beautiful designs we offer. The installation is a unique opportunity to promote the individual company’s products, while at the same time giving the visitor a sensory experience, which transcends the one provided by the individual products,” explains event organiser Signe Byrdal Terenziani.

“It has truly been a pleasure to experience the companies’ willingness to cooperate. Several of them share exhibition space with close competitors, which is not at all common. I believe this new way of thinking shows that the companies have discovered the value and synergies of cooperation and sharing experiences.”

Trace has designed and developed an online catalogue for the Danish Chromatism exhibition. The catalogue featured an interactive map of the exhibition space mapping more than 200 Danish design pieces to their exact location.

Participating Companies :

&tradition, Carl Hansen & Søn, Ege, Fabula Living, Fredericia Furniture, Fritz Hansen, Gubi, Herskind – Herskind, Holmegaard, Karakter, Kay Bojesen, Kvadrat, LEGO, Libratone, Louis Poulsen, Lyngby Porcelæn, MA/U Studio, Made a Mano, Montana, Paustian, Peter Klint, Rosendahl, Royal Copenhagen, Skagerak, Stelton, Tom Rossau, Trollbeads, Wiinberg, With a View, 8000c.