The HI-Group: Craftsmanship in the Plastic Age

Discover the HI-group: the masters of craft, furniture and interior design from the 1960s.

This is the first exhibition ever devoted to the work of the HI-Group, a seminal chapter in the history of Swedish design and interiors. The HI-group was a collective of craftsmen and designers working across different fields and in different materials.

This exhibition displays around 30 objects, from furniture to photography, that have never been seen together before and tell a story of the renaissance of craft in an era more associated with modern, standardised materials. Period photography shows how the city of Stockholm formed a strong context for HI-group’s work. The exhibition has been elegantly designed by TAF Arkitektkontor.

At the start of the 1960s, Swedish cities were developing at an astounding rate, as hundreds of thousands of homes were constructed using standardised modern materials. Perhaps surprisingly, that moment also saw a renaissance in high quality craft. The HI-group attempted to renew the Swedish art of furniture and once more put craft back at the centre of the design process. They also aimed to help Sweden compete with Denmark at a time when the Danes dominated the world of crafted furniture.

The purpose behind forming this group was to allow interior architects, furniture designers and craftsmen to experiment together without having to worry about the requirements of industrial production.