Translation:

Reykjavik Newspaper Morgunblaðið, p. 17, June 3, 2001.

Icelandic designer exhibits in New York

New York, Morgunblaðið.

An exhibition with the works of Icelandic designer and architect Olafur Thordarson recently opened in the Shop in the Scandinavia House in New York. The main features were Thordarson's three new lamps. Their forms are inspired both by the nature of the homeland as well as the skyline of New York City.

While one light reminds you of a skyscraper, the second is like an erupting hot spring. The third is like the cap of a mushroom or the bud of a flower in rapid growth. The lamps are a good example of how Thordarson gets inspired from different directions, from nature to the New York environment where he has lived for the last decade. All of the lights are cast in flowing resin, somtimes pigmented or transparent. Each of them emit a soft glowing light through the translucent material.

The base on each light is cast in raw concrete, contrasting the lightness of the glowing resin.

These objects embody a considerable amount of work, Thordarson explained these lights have been on the drawing table for the last two years and each developed individually off the same concept. The lights are placed in the shop window, in a display case also designed by Thordarson. They will remin there until the end of the month while indoors one also finds Thordarson's older objects, such as his snail clocks and wine racks. Olafur Thordarson often searches out of the conventional notions of industrial design og couples together design and art in in his works. This way no two objects are alike and each object is available in a relatively few copies.

Olafur completed his Master of Architecture degree at Columbia University in New York. He currently teaches Industrial Design at the Rhode Island School of Design as well as operating his design studio Dingaling Studio along with the web publication Das Boot, dedicated to presenting the works of upcoming designers and artists on-the web.

The Shop in the Scandinavia House in New York sells various gift items and smaller pieces along with design from the Nordic Countries. This is the first time it had a Designer Event in the shop, presenting the works of a designer.