#hellajongerius

Layers Park Double, Hella Jongerius, 2007, Art Institute of Chicago: Architecture and Design

Gift of Maharam Fabric Corporation Size: 180 × 52 in. Medium: Wool, nylon and polyester

Layers Garden Double, Hella Jongerius, 2008, Art Institute of Chicago: Architecture and Design

Gift of Maharam Fabric Corporation Size: 640 × 132 cm (252 × 52 in.) Medium: Wool, nylon, polyester upholstery

Jonsberg Vase, Hella Jongerius, 2005, Art Institute of Chicago: Architecture and Design

Hella Jongerius’s Jonsberg Vase for IKEA is a perfect example of the fusion of nostalgia and the avant-garde through the use of embroidery in contemporary design. The vase itself has a clean-lined, classic shape that would be fitting in a minimalist modern setting without any embellishment. Jongerius, however, is known for reinterpreting normative conventions of craft to produce new hybrids that are imbued with warmth, nostalgia, and fun. Here her figurative floral pattern is pierced into the vase in a manner reminiscent of needlepoint. The merging of these two apparently incongruent traditions renders the vase—because of the ornamental perforations—anything but functional. Gift of an Anonymous Donor Size: 34 × 30 cm (13 3/8 × 11 3/4 in.) Medium: Stoneware, feldspar porcelain

Layers Park Double, Hella Jongerius, 2007, Art Institute of Chicago: Architecture and Design

Gift of Maharam Fabric Corporation Size: 180 × 52 in. Medium: Wool, nylon and polyester

Repeat Textile, Hella Jongerius, 2002, Art Institute of Chicago: Architecture and Design

Collaboration with designers has become a hallmark of the New York–based textile firm Maharam, adding dynamic partnerships with renowned contemporary designers to their important archive of midcentury reissues. Maharam often commissions designs from practitioners whose primary work lies outside textile design—an approach that results in a wide range of critical artistic engagements with the medium. Hella Jongerius’s 2002 Repeat Dot takes inspiration from her close observation of the manufacturing process in textile mills producing Maharam designs. Focusing on the technology and by-products used to create woven fabrics, this work recalls the perforations of punch cards used to program Jacquard looms, overlaid with white screen-printing that mimics the codes and handwritten notes used to make changes to fabric samples. Her Repeat series also has a unique means of application as the repeats of different patterns of the design occur at wide intervals, offering users a level of customization by choosing to use one or more of the patterns in a single piece of fabric. Gift of Maharam Size: 139 × 312.4 cm (54 3/4 × 123 in.) Medium: Cotton, polyester, and rayon

Jonsberg Vase, Hella Jongerius, 2005, Art Institute of Chicago: Architecture and Design

Hella Jongerius’s Jonsberg Vase for IKEA is a perfect example of the fusion of nostalgia and the avant-garde through the use of embroidery in contemporary design. The vase itself has a clean-lined, classic shape that would be fitting in a minimalist modern setting without any embellishment. Jongerius, however, is known for reinterpreting normative conventions of craft to produce new hybrids that are imbued with warmth, nostalgia, and fun. Here her figurative floral pattern is pierced into the vase in a manner reminiscent of needlepoint. The merging of these two apparently incongruent traditions renders the vase—because of the ornamental perforations—anything but functional. Gift of an Anonymous Donor Size: 34 × 30 cm (13 3/8 × 11 3/4 in.) Medium: Stoneware, feldspar porcelain

Felt Stool, Hella Jongerius, 2000, Art Institute of Chicago: Architecture and Design

Dutch designer Hella Jongerius transforms everyday materials and processes into unexpected and lively design solutions. Jongerius created Felt Stool as a translation or reworking of an earlier porcelain stool designed as continuous band with gently rounded "legs." In contrast to the rigid porcelain stool, the felt version is lightweight and soft but retains a strong, graphic silhouette. Here, the thick and pliable fabric is laminated in multicolored layers over a metal support, challenging our notions about the nature and performance of textiles. Restricted gift of the Architecture & Design Society Size: 50 × 40 × 25 cm (19 11/16 × 15 3/4 × 9 13/16 in.) Medium: Layered felt (cotton) over steel, cotton stitching