Stig Lindberg
STIG LINDBERG (1916-1982)
Stig Lindberg was one of Sweden's most iconic and prolific designers. His works ranged from painting, ceramics glass, textile, illustration and industrial design. Pioneering and folksy, he has been called Sweden's Renaissance man. He was one of the designers who put color and form to mid-century Sweden. Stig’s influence was quickly felt across the the design world; from slender, delicate stoneware to TV sets, washbasins, tableware, home decor, textiles, children's books, enamel, and glass art.
Lindberg created whimsical studio ceramics and graceful tableware lines during a long career with the Gustavsberg pottery factory. In 1937, he went to work at Gustavsberg under notable Wilhelm Kåge. Stig Lindberg was not the only young artist working for Gustavsberg. The artistic leader, Wilhelm Kage, had an entire group of assistants at his disposal. These aspiring young artists had tenuous employment contracts and often performed only basic duties. The role of assistant and errand boy; however, would be short-lived for Stig. In 1949, at the young age of 33, he was named Kåge's successor as art director. From this period until he left Gustavsberg in 1980, he designed individual ceramic items, as well as mass produced lines of dinnerware.
Stig quickly distinguished himself at Gustavsberg by exhibiting magnificent drawing techniques and sharing his wealth of ideas. Kåge was impressed by this young adept and opened the door to a more prominent role in the factory while offering Stig greater artistic freedom. From the beginning, Stig churned out ideas at an unprecedented rate, which would become a signature characteristic for the rest his career. The most noteworthy contributions of the 1940s were the revitalization of faience objects and the Parian series.
In the 1950s, Stig Lindberg built upon his notoriety to become the public face of Gustavsberg Factory. He was a one-man publicity machine, elevating the public’s interest in the often-troubled factory. Stig was a media genius. The notoriety he achieved in his time equates to that of today’s celebrity designers, and influencers. Stig did not make a distinction between the artistic merit of industrial design and more traditional works of art. He famously noted, "A thumbtack holds for me as much poetry as a wildflower.”
excerpts courtesy of Mother Sweden
