Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
Seoul’s SONGEUN Art and Cultural Foundation Gets Support and Space
September 6,
2023 by HFBusiness Staff in Business Strategy, Designer Weekly, Industry 
Maharam is proud to support Artek and Formafantasma in the inauguration of the Kaleidoscope Room at Seoul’s SONGEUN Art and Cultural Foundation.
Serving as a reading room for visitors at the entryway to SONGEUN’s exhibition space designed to nurture promising Korean artists, the Kaleidoscope Room by Artek and Formafantasma offers a glimpse into the Finnish forest.
Noting the impacts of climate change and industrialization, the installation both celebrates the 90th anniversary of the iconic Stool 60 by Alvar Aalto and reflects on Artek within the context of the forest industry.
The presentation highlights Formafantasma’s ongoing research, including the extraction, production, and distribution of wood products. Developed in partnership between Artek and Formafantasma, Artek’s new wild birch option referred to as “villi” (Finnish for “wild”) pursues reduced environmental impact by embracing the natural material’s varied appearance including knots, insect trails, and color shifts and thus utilizing more of the tree.
Maharam’s contribution of custom materials enlists the company’s bespoke design services and advanced digital printing capabilities.
An expansive tufted wool rug envelopes the floor in a lilac hue that was carefully selected by Formafantasma. Maharam Media worked closely with Formafantasma to develop a large-scale digitally printed curtain spanning 8.4 meters by 3.4 meters that captures a film still of a Finnish birch forest in reference to the origin of Artek furniture.
The Kaleidoscope Room by Artek and Formafantasma is open Aug 16 to Feb 24.