Sven Fristedt is one of the most productive and appreciated textile designers of our time. For several decades, he has designed patterns for, among others, Borås Wäfveri AB and IKEA, but also for several of Katja of Sweden's collections. Sven's design language arouses recognition among many. His original and characteristic designs have adorned curtains, sofas, tablecloths and duvet covers in many homes.
During the heyday of the Swedish teak industry in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, fabrics with Sven Fristedt's patterns were exported all over the world. Today, interest in retro fabrics has increased and the industrially produced fabrics have become a modern textile cultural heritage.
Sven Fristedt was born in 1940 and has lived and worked in Skåne since his 20s. Kulturen i Lund has now produced a large retrospective exhibition about his long and extensive artistry, from the first pattern for the textile industry in the late 1950s to the present day. Selection and content have been developed in close collaboration with the artist. In addition to many of the prints for industrial production, unique objects and sculptures are also shown, and newly made hand prints made at the Artists' Collective Workshop in Malmö. Sketches and materials that have inspired provide an insight into the artistic process.
Everyday design is an important part of people's lives. The exhibition highlights the designer's central role in the design of our everyday products and tells about the Swedish tea industry. It is built to be able to travel on to more museums, so that those interested in form in other parts of the country can have a chance to take part in it.
Kulturen has also collaborated with Borås Cotton, who will reprint some of Sven Fristedt's designs. During the exhibition period, the newly printed fabrics will be sold exclusively in the museum shop at Kulturen in Lund and at the Design Archive in Nybro.