Kristian Solmer Vedel (2 March 1923 - 5 March 2003) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

industrial designer and part of the

Scandinavian Design Scandinavian design is a design movement characterized by simplicity, minimalism and functionality that emerged in the early 20th century, and subsequently flourished in the 1950s throughout the five Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway, ...

movement.

Life

He completed his apprenticeship as cabinetmaker in 1942. From 1944-45 he was visiting student under professor

Kaare Klint Kaare Klint (15 December 1888 – 28 March 1954) was a Danish architect and furniture designer, known as the father of modern Danish furniture design. Style was epitomized by clean, pure lines, use of the best materials of his time and super ...

at the Department of Furniture at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. In 1946, he graduated from the Furniture Design Department of the School of Arts, Crafts and Design in Copenhagen, where he also lectured 1953-56. He served as chairman of Danish Furniture Designers 1947-49. He was instrumental in establishing the Industrial Designers of Denmark and served as the society's first chairman, from 1966 to 1968. In 1950, he married Birgit (née Arnfred), and in 1954, they set up a design studio in

Humlebæk Humlebæk is a town within the municipality of Fredensborg in North Zealand in Denmark, approximately 35 km north of Copenhagen. Humlebæk is located at the shore to Øresund and has a population of 9,758 (2022).

, outside

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. The couple had four children, but were divorced in 1961. Vedel married his second wife, Ane (born Pedersen) in 1961. Between 1968 and 1971, Kristian Vedel organised and led the Department of Industrial Design at the

University of Nairobi The University of Nairobi (uonbi or UoN; ) is a collegiate research university based in Nairobi. It is the largest university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution dates back to 1956, it did not become an independent univer ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

. He and his wife, Ane, returned to Denmark in 1972 to establish a design studio on Thyholm, in North-Western

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

. At Thyholm Kristian Vedel devoted most of his time to cultivating the surrounding landscape, breeding Shropshire sheep, and researching utilization of their wool, hides and meat. He died on 5 March 2003 and is buried in Humlebæk Cemetery in Humlebæk.

Notable designs and design philosophy

Influenced by

and the German

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 20 ...

school, his "classic modern" designs are characterized by creative use of materials, especially plastics and wood, and with a strong sense for ergonomic and functional requirements. A typical example is his children's furniture, which could be adapted to a growing child, turned over to be used as a toy. In all respects, the furniture was designed for children according to children's needs, rather than just being a miniature version of adult furniture. In an interview, Kristian Vedel stated his position as follows:

The starting point for an industrial artist's work must always be that he, from his own point of view, and as objectively as possible, takes a position with regard to what he feels society and his fellow men need; he must personally take a stand on the existing possibilities and responsibilities. Lutteman, Helena Dahlbäck and Uggla, Marianne (eds.). ''The Lunning Prize.'' Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 1986. (p. 137)

Awards

Vedel has been awarded 1st prize by Copenhagen Cabinetmakers Guild (1947), Louisiana Museum Prize (1957), silver medal at La Triennale di Milano for children's furniture (1957), a gold medal at La Triennale di Milano for his line of stackable

melamine Melamine is an organic compound with the formula C3H6N6. This white solid is a trimer of cyanamide, with a 1,3,5-triazine skeleton. Like cyanamide, it contains 67% nitrogen by mass, and its derivatives have fire retardant properties due t ...

dishes and containers, the Design Award at Interplast in London (1961) and the

Lunning Prize The Lunning Prize was instituted by Frederik Lunning, owner of the New York agency for Georg Jensen. The prize was awarded to eminent Scandinavian designers, two each year, from 1951 to 1970. The recipients were selected by a group of peers fro ...

(1962). In January–May 2007, Trapholt Museum in Denmark mounted a retrospective exhibition of major works. As an adjunct to the exhibition, Arkitektens Forlag published a book featuring the works and drawings of Kristian Vedel.Vedel, Ane (ed.). ''Kristian Vedel.'' Arkitektens Forlag, 2007. http://arkfo.dk/vis.php?id=2315

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vedel, Kristian Solmer 1923 births 2003 deaths Danish designers Danish industrial designers Danish women designers Modernist designers