The works Sky I, Sky II and Sky III by the danish designer Astrid Krogh, derive their inspiration from the changing color spectrum of the sky. The weavings may appear as almost monochrome color screens but with their gentle shift in color spectrum, they mimic the subtle changes of the sky throughout the day. Sky evolves in a slow and meditative pace from the light of early dawn towards the glowing sunlight, passing through orange sunset notes towards the blue hours of the evening. With the Sky pieces, Astrid Krogh translates natural phenomenon into emotional perception, captivating those subtle moments where a cloud slowly passes in front of the sun, changing not only the light atmosphere in the room but also the mood of the beholder. The piece can be displayed in the middle of a space, creating an immaterial wall of light.
Astrid Krogh embraces traditional craft techniques while using high tech materials. She hand weaves lengths of optic strands on a loom to make iridescent tapestries that illuminate into a rainbow of brilliant colors. The fibers in the tapestries are connected to monitors that regulate the color palette, and slowly and hypnotically move the color throughout the piece. In this way, Astrid succeeds in giving light a rare soft and tactile quality, proposing a highly original and poetic vocabulary in the field of light installations, based on contemplative perception and sensual color experience.
Astrid Krogh is widely considered as one of the most pioneering designers in the field of optic fiber installations, starting by the end of the 1990s with monumental light weavings for important museum exhibitions and site-specific commissions such as the Maersk building, the Danish Parliament and the 21 C Museum in Cincinnati. In 2006, 2009 and 2011 she received the Danish Art Foundation Prize. She won the Thorvald Bindesboell Medal in 2008 and received the Inga & Ejvind Kold Christensen Prize in 2013.
Sky
2012
Optic fiber tapestry
285 x 160 x 18 cm
Unique piece
Sky
2012
Optic fiber tapestry
285 x 160 x 18 cm
Unique piece
Sky
2012
Optic fiber tapestry
285 x 160 x 18 cm
Unique piece
Sky
2012
Optic fiber tapestry
285 x 160 x 18 cm
Unique piece
Sky
2012
Optic fiber tapestry
285 x 160 x 18 cm
Unique piece
Born in 1968, lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark
After graduating in 1997 from the textile faculty at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Design, Astrid Krogh established her own studio the following year, where she started using optical fibers to create woven textiles, thereby weaving with light itself. As colored light is transmitted through the fibers, the textiles change appearance and transform the spaces around them. Krogh’s point of departure from conventional textile design was not merely her fascination for light, but also her attraction to shape-morphing objects and shifting colorways. “I use light as both a material and a technology”, Krogh explains. “The presence of light is an essential component of my work. Light enables my textiles to pulsate, change patterns and create an entire spectrum of ever-changing colorways”.
Few artists speak this refined language as fluently as Astrid Krogh, who uses light to describe aspects of nature that words simply cannot. The lingua franca in Krogh’s world describes the feelings evoked by the beauty of the dawn, and the emotions stirred when the sunset streaks extraordinary colors across the sky. Her vocabulary is nuanced by sensory experiences, which are articulated through a lexicon of color and light. Krogh’s vernacular encompasses the ripples that cause sunlight to sparkle on the surface of a lake, and the surging, blue tinted waves that change color as they break on the shore.
Widely recognized as one of the most pioneering Scandinavian artists in the field of light installations and textile art, Krogh is working at the intersection between art, architecture and design. Krogh’s works have been exhibited in various international institutions, such as the Boston Fine Art Museum; Le Musée Eugène Delacroix, Paris; Tournai International Triennial of Contemporary Textile Arts, Belgium; Malmö Kunstmuseum, Sweden; the Tefaf Maastricht Fair, Holland and Design Miami/Basel, Switzerland. Krogh’s works are included in important museum collections, such as the Designmuseum Danmark and the 21C Museum International Contemporary Art Foundation. Krogh has been making monumental light installations and site-specific commissions for private and public collections, such as the 21C Museum International Contemporary Art Foundation in Cincinnati, the Danish Parliament in Copenhagen; the Longchamp Flagship store in Paris; the Danish University Center in Beijing, China, and the Maersk building in Copenhagen. Krogh’s pieces are published in important books about contemporary textiles, architecture and design, and the artist has won several prizes, including the Thorvald Bindesboell Medal, the Inga & Ejvind Kold Christensen Prize, the Annual Honorary Grant of the National Bank of Denmark, the Finn Juhl Architecture Prize and the CODA Awards.
