LESS IS MORE….NOT!

23 Apr–6 Sep, 2015

Art and designed objects from the Absolut Art Collection 1985–1995, chosen and presented by the interior design duo, Simon & Tomas.

In a whirlwind of euphoria, money, creativity and desire, Absolut Vodka launched its first advertising campaign in 1986 with an artwork by Andy Warhol. The following decade witnessed an unprecedented number of original work commissioned from artists.

Absolut Vodka not only commissioned art but also a diversity of designed objects. The extensive range of the pieces in the exhibition exemplifies the unbridled optimism of the Eighties. Furniture, sculpture, glass, jewellery, nothing was excluded, no matter if it was abstract, conceptual or merely pastiche. Everything was possible.

The motto was to live in the here and now and to have a great life. People were consumed and thirsty for a quick and easy rush, banal enjoyment and instant satisfaction. Tomorrow is another day, everything was about the present moment, the consequence of one`s actions seemed aeons away.

The early nineties presaged a period of transition, a more moderate and mellowed expression, a slowing down, a moment of re-evaluation. “Community” made a comeback at the expense of the lonely, hedonistic, self- obsessed individual. Human rights, political freedom and increased environmental awareness gained precedence. The Eighties were fun while they lasted. In the end there is always a price to pay, for everything.

This exhibition has been a journey full of bittersweet reflections for us, both in our rolls as interior designers and guest curators, but also with our personal memories of being  young men swept away by the Zeitgeist. We hope the art and the designed objects we have chosen from the Absolut Art Collection will express the variation and shift between the two contrasting decades.

Simon Davies & Tomas Cederlund