Objet D’Art: Artisanal Tech

Every month, Interview picks an artist- or designer-created object that straddles the line between aesthetics and function. Subdued tastes need not apply. 

Swedish designer Love Hultén believes in utility. His educational foundation is in woodworking, which he learned in the context of traditional Scandinavian craftmanship. But Hultén understands that, for modern customers, the most useful things often come with wiring. His eponymous line, founded in 2012, places electronic devices, like arcades, radios, and televisions, within carefully crafted wood frameworks. “Nostalgia is involved to a certain extent, yes, but it’s not looking backwards,” Hultén says. “It’s taking steps in different directions simultaneously by using fragments from both past and today.”

Pictured above is his most recent piece, a a podium modeled after a classic pulpit and dubbed “The Speaker,” which was commissioned by HDK School of Design and Crafts in Sweden. “They wanted something special for the lecturing section,” Hultén explains. Mainly constructed out of walnut, the podium also features an illuminated “planetarium” facing the audience that is made of copper, custom light fixtures, and frosted acrylic.

“THE SPEAKER” AND OTHER ITEMS BY LOVE HULTÉN ARE AVAILABLE IN THE UNITED STATES EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH AUSTERE.

Objet D’Art runs every month. For more, click here.