In collaboration with the Finnish furniture manufacturer Nikita, Kustaa Saksi designed an upholstered cabinet: a contemporary interpretation of a cabinet of curiosities. The upholstery was developed in the TextielLab.
Saksi has been a regular visitor to the TextielLab over the past ten years, creating works including ‘Herbarium of Dreams’, ‘Arachne's Web’ and ‘Archipelago’ here. His work also featured in the exhibition 'Highlights TextielLab' in the TextielMuseum. For the cabinet, he brought Iku-Turso, a mythical sea monster from Finnish mythology, back to life. Finnish folklore and Japanese paper art blend seamlessly in this contemporary cabinet of curiosities. Saksi used Japanese paper yarns on the 350-cm wide loom in various classic weaves and colour gradations.
Saksi was excited about the prospect of experimenting on the machines on site and being able to adjust the process as needed. “For me, it is a kind of action painting with warp and weft. A trial-and-error process, but with coloured threads instead of paint," he said. By using paper, the result is beautifully thin and lightweight. Only four wefts were used: three wefts of flat paper yarn (a kind of paper tape) in different colours and one weft of thin monofilament to add extra strength. These properties make the fabric suitable for upholstery. A combination of Panama weaves and 'fantasy weaves' from the Tilburg Textile School was used. The resulting structures and figures support the graphic design of Saksi's work.
Kustaa Saksi (1975) was born in Finland and studied graphic design at the Finnish Institute of Design. Graphic storytelling is central to his textile art and installations. Now based in Amsterdam, he creates fantasy worlds that consist of playful and paradoxical shapes, with which he evokes psychedelic realms. His work is included in collections worldwide and has been shown in the Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and the TextielMuseum in Tilburg, among others. Saksi’s clients have included Nike, Issey Miyaki and Marimekko.
‘FOG Design+Art Fair – Presented by Gallery FUMI’, San Francisco, 2022
‘The Power of Collaboration’, Gallery FUMI, London, 2021
