Ikea goes maximalist with new collection

Ikea is synonymous with simple Scandinavian design—light wood, clean lines, basic silhouettes. In a new limited edition collection, though, the company is exploring its maximalist side.

The Föremål collection, a collaboration with Swedish ceramic and glass artist Per B Sundberg launching in September, is what you could describe as intentionally gaudy. Föremål’s series of objects includes a clay skull-shaped vase, a pair of metal candlesticks shaped like standard poodles, a cushion with a kaleidoscopic pattern, and a handful of other offbeat items designed as “conversation pieces.”

Sundberg’s artwork (much like his Ikea collection) challenges the distinction between the beautiful and the grotesque. He plays with form, material, and the manufacturing process in order to stir emotion—a big ask for a mass manufactured candlestick or vase, but a worthy goal nonetheless.

In any case, the collection is meant to be challenging, and it is. As Ikea puts it, Föremål is “maybe not everything for everyone but something for someone special.” Indeed.