Not for the Fainthearted
Mats Theselius is a creative force who navigates between art and design, seamlessly moving amid utopian visions and practice, exclusivity, and popular expression. An internationally renowned designer and artist, his extensive portfolio encompasses innovative furniture pieces and product design showcasing his distinctive style.
Mixing rationalism with sudden whims, Theselius's working method demonstrates his inclination as an inventor rather than conventional designer. The focus lies in distilling his concept and refining its execution rather than conforming to preconceived notions of beauty.
Easychair, 1986
Aluminium, solid beech timber, leather
The Aluminium armchair was Theselius’s first armchair able to be constructed by himself due to the soft materiality and ability to be shaped with ordinary carpentry tools. Theselius experimented with the finishing of the aluminium sheet by rubbing, polishing, and finally etching to produce a dynamic finish. The use of hand embossed leather upholstery in the first chair prototypes were sourced by Theselius from old suitcases. The chair is assembled with screws, showcasing how it is made, and demountable.
His armchairs gained widespread recognition in the 1980s, often featuring the material such as iron, aluminium, copper, or timber, centre stage. Sven Lundh the founder of Källemo has played a pivotal role in producing Mats Theselius' designs. Together they have created a line of internationally renowned designer furniture and limited-edition, collectable furniture pieces. Not for the fainthearted, these items, available exclusively through K5 Furniture, are bold, unique and inventive.
Theselius draws inspiration from a variety of sources, including his fascination with musical instruments, particularly drums, and the aesthetics of public architecture from the 1950s. He also harbors a deep appreciation for early arts posters.
Magazine Cabinet, 1986
Solid natural beech stained in yellow, brass, glass, base in oiled oak.
In a period of restlessness, Theselius became enthralled by The National Geographic magazine and the most disparate articles, collecting every issue he could find. As a tribute to the magazine Theselius designed a cabinet for exactly the size and number of annual editions collected; 37. The cabinet was designed with glass doors to view the issues and small drawers for maps often included.
Originally painted green for nature – Theselius then reproduced the cabinet in the same yellow as the magazine, as an extension of the National Geographic concept. Finally, the cabinet was designed for 25, 50, 75 and 100 annual volumes, as extensions for the magazine collection.
Bringing luxury into the realm of everyday existence, Mats Theselius sets himself apart as an influential designer and artist in Sweden. His productions often exhibit a wild and robust character, with many of his chairs exuding a sense of weightiness. Amidst it all, there exists a truly enchanting relationship with disparate materials, showcasing his technical expertise and fixation on material exploration.
Easy Chair, 1997
Steel frame, prime leather
The Bruno chair was designed at the request of Maria Fridh, in 1997 for a musical in Norrkoping.
Theselius again collaborated with Sven Lundh at Källemo for what has become another collector’s piece. Compared to previous chair designs which have both volume and body, Bruno is just skin and bone, partnered with a foot stool for the model. Mats Theselius received the Bruno Mathsson Award in 1997, for the chair design and was thereafter named Bruno.
Mats Theselius is an artist who fearlessly follows his creative impulses, pushing the boundaries of contemporary design to their limits. His work encapsulates a distinct blend of ingenuity, luxury, and an unwavering pursuit of artistic expression.
GRACE
Easy Chair, 2023
Copper Roof Panels, leather, bronze legs
In preparation for the Högalid Church centennial anniversary in the summer of 2023, all church copper roof panels were to be replaced. Theieluis was asked if he wanted to make an armchair out of the copper roof panels. The idea of using roofing panels for an armchair was not new, 10 years earlier Theielius used copper plates from the roof of Sigurd Lewerentz’s church in Klippan for the Hommage A Lewerentz Armchair.
The Hogalid Church, inaugurated in 1923, is a fine example of Swedish neoclassicism, designed by Ivar Tengbom. The work to create the armchair has been a kind of improvisation or play in the theme of Swedish Grace – choosing colour and material combinations that were common or associated with that time. The oxidised roof sheets are left unprocessed, the legs cast in bronze and patinated adding weight and increasing the sense of quality. The crosses on the backrest buttons mimic the ones found on the spires of Högalid Church.
With a strong held belief that ‘an object shall stand the wear of the eye’, producing objects to last overtime, aesthetically, artistically, physically, and metaphysically the collaboration between Matts Theielius and Kallemo is ongoing. Källemo is a furniture manufacturer in Sweden, who are wholly committed to discovering the new and transcending the boundaries of art and design.