Sigurdur Gustafsson

My ideas about form and materials are very closely related to my upbringing and background. I was born in a small village in Iceland.

My father is a carpenter with his own little carpentry. It was in these surroundings that I got my first, and may be most important experience with forms and materials.

This is reflected in my aesthetics which I think of as naive. Not far from my childhood home there is a wrecker ´s yard with remains of ships and all kinds of materials, corroded by rust and etched by time. The decay reveals the essence of things: You see how parts are put together and how different materials relate to one another.

As a designer you must know your own background, but also know the history, so that you can see the perspective and reflect your own time by use of the history. There is nothing new under the sun but there can always be a new understanding in well known objects. The chair for instance is a good example of this.

The process of designing furniture that can be made without using screws or glue is a very good exercise in exploring the essence of the construction. You must have full control as the harmony in between the form and structure must be total. As a consequence I have payed interest in the De Stijl movement and the Russian constructive movement. Both exploring the essence of the structure.

In my work I tend to work in two ways that is with expressive forms and geometrical forms. It is not the purpose of this work to come up with a new style or movement, I simply try to express my own time and place.

I focus on the idea; design is more than just working with forms. You must learn to see and explore. All around us there are hidden ideas and treasures waiting for revelation.

I seek the essential. How material and form unites.