The Copenhagen print shop and its artists on beige, bare walls and why the simplest line takes the longest to draw.
Thomas Nissen has a nickname. “I’ve been known to be called Mr. Beige,” laughs the founder of The Poster Club, the Copenhagen online shop that sells prints by a roster of artists. Then he sets the record straight. “However, Scandinavian design doesn’t mean that there is no colour present at all, but rather the use of colour is taken into account in a very refined way.”
Refined is the word that matters. Scandinavian design is often reduced to bare white walls and pale wood, but the artists Nissen works with describe something harder to pull off.
“Simplicity is very complex,” says the artist Anna Johansson. “There are nice simple shapes and then there are ugly simple shapes. The contrast between simplicity and complexity sometimes seem to be the same. A lot of thought and time is behind the simplest of lines.”
She wants none of that effort to show. “I want people to see my art as something easy and not too complicated, even if the work behind it is something else,” she says. “There’s nothing harder than creating a simple curve that can attract people and be part of their homes and lives.” The payoff is room for the viewer. “When design is simple, people can use their own imagination and fantasy to really take it in and make it their own.”
The Helsinki artist Sheryn Bullis describes the same process from the other end. “Behind every minimalist design, there is a process of elimination,” she says, “until only the functional beauty remains.”
Copenhagen itself is less tidy than its design reputation. “The Copenhagen lifestyle is kind of like organised chaos,” says Hannah Madsen, who looks after press for the shop. “Very busy, but somehow in order, and there is never not time to sit down and enjoy a glass of wine. I think that’s part of the Danish culture in its entirety, the value of time off, mindfulness and connectivity, despite a busy everyday.”
The long, dark winters shape the homes. Many Copenhagen flats have large windows left bare of curtains to catch whatever light there is, and walls kept bare to make the most of it. That is where a print earns its place. “This makes your interior set-up unique to you,” Madsen says. “It also opens up the opportunity for adding character to an otherwise very pared-back space.”
Choosing what goes on the shop’s walls is Nissen’s job. “When deciding which prints to add to our collection, I look for personality, timeless designs and a unique expression that’s different from what we already offer, yet blends with our Scandinavian aesthetic,” he says.
For Madsen, the reason it matters is simple. “It’s important to make a space feel your own, especially when you have to spend the majority of your time in it,” she says. “If you feel at home, you’re able to connect to a deeper self and those around you.”
Words by Braeden Alexander. Images courtesy of The Poster Club.
