Bindesboell's sense of challenging, simple, yet rounded and sensuous expression is unparalleled.
The archives of the Danish Museum of Art & Design hold between 6,000 and 7,000 Bindesboell drawings. When in 1925, after his death, Bindesboell's drawings were submitted to the Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes in Paris, they attracted great interest. The French were keen to get the address of this visionary artist ...
Multitudinous aspects of craft
Dishes, pots, bookbinding, posters, logos, furniture, silverware, textiles and houses. Thorvald Bindesboell trained as an architect like his father and among his commissions were the fishing warehouses (Fiskehusene) in Skagen, north Jutland and several private villas round Denmark. But he became interested in design and his life-long engagement echoed far into the future. Today, Bindesboell is a must for students of all creative disciplines because his works remain utterly modern and up-to-date.
A master of his time
Bindesboell's innovative style combined the familiar with the unknown. Japanese crafts were among the many sources of inspiration that he converted into his own original expression. Bindesboell made a real name for himself with his ceramic works. The forceful, rich decorations turn dishes and pots into sensuous works, hungrily attracting the beholder's attention.
For more than 20 years, Bindesboell worked with ceramics, only to switch to silver in collaboration with goldsmith Holger Kyster of Kolding, west Denmark. Bindesboell also created unique silver works that were copied by other goldsmiths - never mind the copyright!
Leading graphic artist
Next to ceramics, Bindesboell is probably best known for his graphic design. He designed typefaces, book jackets, paper and logos for commercial enterprises. Bindesboell combines a richly decorative style with graphic simplicity in a fusion of art and graphics. The Carlsberg beer label in particular is world-renowned and a recognised classic. Think about that the next time you are having one!
Charlotte Jul is design writer and editor at KUNSTUFF, a Danish handicraft and design magazine.
Jar, glazed pottery, approx. 1893. Height 57,4 cm. Museum of Decorative Art. Photo: Pernille Klemp and Ole Woldbye