Boris Berlin

Born in Leningrad in the Soviet Union (St. Petersburg, Russia) in 1953, Boris Berlin graduated from the Higher School of Art and Industry in 1975. He began his career as an industrial and graphic designer at VNIITE, Leningrad, where he designed a wide range of industrial products.
In 1983 Boris moved to Denmark, founding “Boris Berlin Design”.
In 1987 he became a co-founder and partner of Komplot Design, which has received numerous design awards.
In 2010, Boris Berlin co-founded and became a partner of Iskos-Berlin Design, together with Aleksej Iskos, who was earlier working in Komplot Design. The two of them have developed a shared philosophy of design and their studio focuses on industrial, furniture and graphic design, and it specialises in experimenting with new technologies and materials to explore their impact on design of everyday objects.
The geography of their clients spreads from Denmark and Sweden to USA and Japan including such companies as Gubi, Hay, Normann, Muuto, Light Years, Versus, Källemo, Blå Station, Zero, Tendo, Stylex and so forth.

Komplot Design’s and Iskos-Berlin Design’s works are represented in collections of several design museums around the world, among them: Design Museum Denmark, Die Neue Sammlung – The International Design Museum Munich, Museum of Modern Art, New York, Vitra Design Museum etc.
Boris Berlin has also curated and designed several design exhibitions and participated in many of them, and he has led a number of master classes in design schools.

Boris Berlin, b. 1953 Russia

EDUCATION
Institute of Applied Arts and Design, Leningrad 1975

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

1987 – 2018  SE, Cabinetmakers Autumn Exhibition, Copenhagen
1987 – 2006 Annual participation in Scandinavian Furniture Fair & Furniture Fairs in Milan, Cologne and Tokyo
1992 XVIII Design Triennale, Milano
1992 – 1994 Danish Design – Richness and Simplicity, Bratislava, Slovakia; Athens, Greece; Milan, Italy
1995 Contemporary Danish Design, Sophienholm
1995 Design – the Artistic Dimension, Copenhagen
1995 Design, process and result, Copenhagen
1995 – 2004 100 % design, London
1998 Industrial Design, Before and After, ID-Forum, Horsens
1998 Sven Lundh’s Eye, Stockholm
1999 – 2003 Spectrum, London
1999 “Designers Profile”, Bella Center, Copenhagen
1999 “Empty Spaces”, Munich
2000 – 2001 “DANSK FORM tur-retur”, Hamburg, Germany; Gl. Dok, Copenhagen
2001 “Danes on the move”, New York
2002 St. Etienne International Design Biennale, France
2002 “Utopia and Reality”, Danish Museum of Art & Design, Copenhagen
2003 Danish Slow Life House, Tokyo
2004 “Sven Lundh’s Eye” St.Petersburg, Halmstad
2005 “Svens Design” Trapholt, Kolding
2003 – 2005 “Scandinavian Design Beyond the Myth” Berlin, Milan, Gent, Prague, Budapest, Riga, Glasgow, Copenhagen
2005 – 2006 “Use it! Danish Design in Everyday Life”, DDC, Copenhagen
2007 “Composites – On the Tour – 2”, Bruxelles,
2007 “20 Years Of Design Dialogue”, Danish Museum of Art & Design, Copenhagen
2008 « DESIGNS OF THE YEAR » Inaugural Exhibition and Awards Celebrating the Best in International Design over Last 12 Months. Design Museum, London
2009 Biennale Prisvindere – Trapholt, Kolding/ Danish Museum of Art & Design, Copenhagen
2009 – 2010 Danish Design: Komplot ”Process” – Staatliches Museum für Kunst und Design in Nürnberg
2013 “Nordic Cool 2013” Festival: Exhibition “Nordic Design Illustrated”, The Kennedy Center, Washington
2014 Galerie Maria Wettergren at PAD London 2014
2014 Galerie Maria Wettergren at Design Miami/Basel 2014
2015 Galerie Maria Wettergren at The Salon: Art + Design 2015, NYC
2015 “REALTIME”, Gallery Superobjekt, Copenhagen
2016 ICONIC AWARDS 2016 – Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne
2016 SE-15 “Petit”- Maison du Danemark, Paris
2016 “Learning from Japan”, Design Museum, Copenhagen
2016 “Danish Design Now”, Design Museum, Copenhgen
2016 “Danish Chair – The International Affair”, Design Museum Denmark, Copenhagen
2017 “Eat Me”, Trapholt, Kolding
2017 “Everyday Life”, 21st Century Museum, Kanazawa

AWARDS
1989 1. Prize IBD Competition, Table category, for “Collage”, USA
1989 Merket for God Design, Norwegian Design Council, for “Collage” tables, NO
1991 Scandinavian Furniture Award for “Vision”, DK
1991 G-Mark (Japanese Golden Design Award) for “Collage” tables, JP
1991 TOP Danmark Award for “Terra Vita” (together with Stuart Clyens), DK
1992 Transit Carrier purchased by the Danish National Art Foundation, DK
1992 Merket for God Design, Norwegian Design Council for “Vision”, NO
1993 The Danish Art Foundation Prize for « Antelope » chair, DK
1996 2. Prize in Forsnäs Nordic Design Competition, SE
2000 Utmärkt Svensk Form for “Longo”, SE
2000 Klassiker-prisen, Norwegian Design Council, for “Collage” tables, NO
2001 Årets designpris 2001 for ”NON” chair, Bo Bedre, DK
2001 1. Prize in Rubber Competition for “NON”, London, GB
2001 Utmärkt Svensk Form, honourable mention for « NON » chair, SE
2001 Nomination to Den Danske Designpris for « NON » chair, DK
2001 Merket for God Design, Norwegian Design Council for « VIVA » collection, NO
2002 Sköna Hem, Årets Möbel 2002, for « NON » chair, SE
2002 The Furniture Prize « Møbelprisen 2002 », DK
2003 “Rum Pris“ for the best showroom design at the Copenhagen Furniture Mart (for Howe A/S), DK
2003 Bo Bedre, Årets Møbelpris 2003 for “Gubi” chair, DK
2003 The Architectural Review award for product excellence at Spectrum, London, for “Genus” chair, GB
2003 Innovation Award, Best of NeoCon 2003 for “Gubi” chair, USA
2003 Gold Award, Best of NeoCon 2003 for “Genus” chair, USA
2003 Best Product of 100% Design 2003 / Blueprint Award for “Gubi” chair, GB
2004 Forsnäs pris for “Gubi” chair, SE
2004 Red Dot Award for “Gubi” chair, DE
2004 Dansk Designpris for “Gubi” stoleserie, DK
2004 ELLE Interiör Designpris for “Gubi” chair, SE
2005 1st Prize for The Best New Export Products of Latvia 2005 for Python chair, LV
2006 Silver Award, Best of NeoCon 2006 for « Avo » chair, USA
2006 The Danish Art Foundation’s Prize for the exhibition « Forty Chairs in Four Feet », DK
2006 Formland Spring 2006 Award for The POT FOR ONE FLOWER, DK
2006 GOOD DESIGN Award of The Chicago Athenaeum for Avo chair, USA
2007 1st Prize in the International Composites Design Competition, BE
2007 Red Dot – Best of the Best Award for “Gubi Chair II”, DE
2007 “Gubi Chair II Collection” – Top Nominee of INDEX: Design Award, DK
2007 Crafts and Design Biennial Prize 2007 for « NOBODY » chair, DK
2007 GOOD DESIGN Award of The Chicago Athenaeum for Luna chair, USA
2008 The Forum AID Award: Best Nordic product design 2008 for NOBODY chair, SE
2008 Outdoor furniture “Concrete Things” purchased by the Danish Art Foundation, DK
2009 Winner of the 1st place in category “Home Interior Furniture” IDA08, USA
2009 MACHINA DESIGN AWARD in category « making the world better » – for eco-values, PL
2009 DESIGN PLUS 2009 Award / Material Vision by German Design Council for NOBODY chair, DE
2010 Merket for God Design, Norwegian Design Council for « Clip » tables, NO
2011 Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany for NOBODY & Little NOBODY chairs, DE
2012 Plaza Magazin Award “Lamp of the Year” for Under the Bell, SE
2014 Interior Innovation Award for JUST chair: Selection 2014 by German Design Council, DE
2014 Inga og Ejvind Kold Christensens Foundation’s Honorary Award, DK
2015 Thorvald Bindesbøll Medal by the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, DK
2016 ICONIC AWARDS 2016: Interior Innovation – Best of Best by German Design Council, DE
2017 Glass bench “Presence-Absence” purchased by the Danish National Art Foundation, DK
2018 Red Dot Award for 5-Waves chair series, DE
2018 NYCxDesign Award 2018 for BaBa chair & BaBaBa sofa, USA
2018 “Best of Year Awards Winners 2018” NYCxDESIGN in category Seating:Contract:Lounge, USA
2019 GOOD DESIGN Award of The Chicago Athenaeum for Shadow chair, USA
2020 German Design Award in the category « Excellent Product Design » for DRY chair, DE

COLLECTIONS
The Danish Art Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark
Design Museum Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
Röhsska museet, Gothenburg, Sweden
Trapholt, Kolding, Denmark
Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
Indianapolis Museum of Art, USA
Designmuseo/Design Museum, Helsinki, Finland
Die Neue Sammlung – The International Design Museum Munich, Germany
Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany

GUEST LECTURING, MASTER CLASSES & WORKSHOPS
Betzalel Art Academy, Jerusalem, Israel
Statens Håndverks- og Kunstindustriskole, Oslo, Norway
University for Art and Design, Helsinki, Finland
Danmarks Design Skole, Copenhagen, Denmark
Aarhus Arkitekt Skole, Denmark
Hong-Ik University, Soul, South Korea
Design Seminar, Nordic Council of Ministers, Riga, Latvia
Art Academy, Riga, Latvia
Art Academy, Vilnius, Lithuania
Design Institute, Hong Kong
Business of Design Week (BoDW), Hong Kong
Munich Creative Business Week (MCBW), Germany
Knowledge of Design Week (KoDW), Hong Kong
Furniture Seminar, The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, KADK, Denmark
Zagreb Design Days, Croatia
Stroganovsky High School of Arts, Moscow
Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow
Tallinn Design Days, Estonia

Curator and exhibition architect
2001 “Livsrum”/ “Life Space”, Danish Museum of Art & Design, Copenhagen
2003 “Denmark – Pure Design”, St. Petersburg
2004 – 2006 “40 Chairs in 4 Feet”- Celebration of 40 years of David Rowland’s “40/4” chair,
2004 – 2006 CIFF/ Copenhagen, ORGATEC/Cologne, Munich, Berlin, Triennale di Milano/Milan,
2004 – 2006 Svensk Form/Stockholm, Danish Museum of Art & Design/Copenhagen.
2006 “Cross Examination / KORSFÖRHÖR av och med Boris Berlin”. Vandalorum / Smålands Konstarkiv, Värnamo.
2007 “20 Years Of Design Dialogue”, Danish Museum of Art & Design, Copenhagen
2009 Biennale Prisvindere – Trapholt, Kolding/ Danish Museum of Art & Design, Copenhagen
2009 Danish Design: Komplot”Process” Installation in cooperation between Die Neue Sammlung – The International Design Museum Munich and Neues Museum – Staatliches Museum für Kunst und Design in Nürnberg
2012 “Lost Control” in the World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 during Helsinki Design Week
2012 “Lost Control” in the Danish Design Centre, Copenhagen
2016 – 2017 “Danish Chair – The International Affair”, Design Museum Denmark, Copenhagen