On a day in June 1937, the young Stig Lindberg arrived at the porcelain factory in Gustavsberg looking for work — the same year KF (the Swedish Cooperative Union) had acquired the company.

Unrelated as they were, these two events would together shape the factory’s future in decisive ways.

The factory was soon to become a central part of building modern Sweden, and Stig would eventually become its figurehead.

Today this most popular designer of the postwar boom years has achieved iconic status, and many of his best-known patterns have become reliable markers of their era — not least in advertising and media.

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This year Stig Lindberg would have turned 100. Gustavsberg Porcelain Museum marks the occasion with a retrospective exhibition running 28 May to 11 September 2016. Gustavsberg Art Gallery is simultaneously presenting the exhibition “Karneval”, featuring seven artists’ free interpretations in the spirit of Stig Lindberg.

The exhibition has been developed in collaboration with his son Lars Dueholm-Lindberg / Stig Lindberg Design AB, who has contributed both expertise and objects. Additional loans come from private collectors and the museum’s own acquisitions.

The ambition of the exhibition is to present Stig Lindberg in as broad a perspective as possible, doing justice to his remarkable versatility. It is organised thematically across twelve sections: Tableware, Unique Studio Ceramics, Faience, Studio Ceramic Series, Textile Design, Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Enamel Art, Public Art, Fine Art, “At Home” and “Curiosities”.

Tableware is naturally central to the exhibition. A selection of Lindberg’s most beloved creations is on show — Berså and Spisa Ribb are self-evident inclusions. Studio ceramics occupy their own section. Faience represented an intermediate form — primarily a serially produced craft. Lindberg provided the designs, while the work was carried out by his colleagues in the faience studio.

Textile and graphic design. NK’s textile department collaborated with Lindberg on around thirty different textile patterns. Many have become classics, and several are available today as reprints. The exhibition includes original textiles, a selection of original sketches from the family archive, and a range of reprints. Graphic design was another area Lindberg pursued with enthusiasm — among the examples on show is the card deck he created for Öbergs. His collaboration with Lennart Hellsing is widely known; the Krakel Spektakel character can, if one wishes, be read as a self-portrait.

Industrial design. Lindberg’s plastic products for Gustavsberg from the 1950s are relatively well known. The exhibition includes his thermos flasks and citrus press, alongside work in other materials and fields — art glass and utility glass for Målerås glasbruk and Holmegaard, and radio and television sets for Luma.

Enamel art. Enamel was a medium very much in demand during the 1950s and 1960s. Lindberg was among its pioneers, creating vivid and lustrous works in what he described as the world’s most beautiful mess — a former bathtub factory. He inspired many followers. A particularly unusual piece in the exhibition is one of his enamelled outdoor barbecues from the 1950s, a rare object borrowed from a private collector.

Public art. Over time, public commissions became an increasingly important part of Lindberg’s practice. The works were executed in various materials and techniques, with enamel and ceramics predominating. Many of his public works have since been lost, but a significant number remain in place across Sweden.

Fine art. Lindberg as a visual artist has received somewhat less attention. He was a skilled draughtsman with a distinctive and personal style — a quality that was of course fundamental to his practice as a designer, but here the works are considered on their own terms.

At Home. Using original furniture, textiles and objects, the exhibition recreates a corner of the Lindberg home, presenting Stig Lindberg both as a private individual and a public figure. Curiosities brings together a range of objects that illuminate and represent the person behind the work.

The exhibition is supported by: Momentum AB, IKANO Bostad, Presentationsdata AB, and Gustavsbergs Porslinsfabrik AB.