24 June – 27 September 2026
Sculptures that have become cornerstones of her practice, widely sold public favourites, and a distinctly personal approach to glass — this summer, Designarkivet offers a unique look into Åsa Jungnelius’s kaleidoscopic universe and the creative processes behind the works.
The exhibition Kalejdoskop presents the original visual language of Åsa Jungnelius, one of Sweden’s leading artists and designers.
Her breakthrough came in 2008 with the feminist glass series Make Up for Kosta Boda. As early as 2004, however, the series’ lipstick and nail polish figures had been presented as unique sculptures in her graduation exhibition Vad fin du är i håret! at Konstfack. This process — in which an artistic interest in the everyday object first takes shape as sculpture and subsequently as a commercial product — has since been a defining characteristic of her practice.
Åsa Jungnelius moves freely between contexts and works seamlessly across artworks, public installations, and everyday objects. Kalejdoskop includes, among other things, the glass products she developed for Kosta Boda, the award-winning interior pieces she created for Källemo, and her ongoing work on the public art commission Snäckan for the new Stockholm metro station Hagastaden. Also on view are production sketches and prototypes for some of her most noted works — a generous insight into a boundary-crossing creative process and into unconventional production methods. The exhibition also reveals how she challenges the production logic of globalisation by blowing and selling drinking glasses from her own glassworks in Månsamåla, Småland.
The exhibition originates from a donation by Åsa Jungnelius to Designarkivet, consisting of sketch and process material from her practice. The addition constitutes significant and enriched documentation of one of the most influential artists and designers working today.
Photo Martha Thisner.
Åsa Jungnelius (born 1975) lives and works in Stockholm and Månsamåla. In her material-based practice, where glass and stone materials such as granite, diabase and marble are central, she explores how body, identity and matter are continuously renegotiated.
She has exhibited both in Sweden and internationally, including at Pera Museum in Istanbul, Xiangning Art Museum in Shenzhen, and Nationalmuseum in Stockholm. From 2012 to 2022 she was associate professor at Konstfack, and she is currently engaged with the public art commission Snäckan for the metro station Hagastaden in Stockholm — a project begun in 2015 and expected to be completed in 2027.
https://asajungnelius.se