“Top Nono” could be the name of a bar, a brand, or a mountain – something to climb, or something to decorate. The space that now houses Platform was once part of a church. The church became an art centre, and art centres have a soft spot for design. With just a few simple gestures, Mille Qvist has furnished Platform with an interior that both mimics and celebrates the beloved/loathed zone between design and art. The space becomes a box – a container for things to be owned and used – and inside the box are objects that shimmer like desire and sit squarely like minimalism.

Between Furniture Finish and Sculptural Weight
Mille Qvist’s practice revolves around sculpture, yet it carries a distinct resistance to the modernist sculptural tradition and its often over-eager masculinity. In the grey areas – and complete overlaps – between functional utility and useless beauty, between the surface of furniture and the weight of sculpture (or vice versa), “Top Nono” zooms in on the fetishisation of designed environments and designed content that often characterises the contemporary art space. A longing directed at both works and wares, in a world where, above all, we worship beautiful things we can buy, use, and photograph.

The exhibition “Top Nono” runs from 20 June to 27 July. 

The exhibition is supported by the Danish Arts Foundation, Beckett-Fonden and Knud Højgaards Fond. Platform has been made possible with generous support from Det Obelske Familiefond.