Soft Urn

Born in the Netherlands in 1963, Jongerius graduated from Eindoven’s Academy of Industrial Design in 1993; after briefly joining Droog, she formed her own studio, Jongeriuslab. Major commissions followed, including a series of color-blocked textiles for Maharam in a tricky fabrication never previously attempted at an industrial scale. In 2007, she became Art Director of Colours and Materials for Vitra and created mainstays like their Polder Sofa and East River chair while developing their Colour & Material Library. In 2012, she joined Danksina as Art Director.

Meanwhile, her own work continued to grow in size and influence. For a collaboration with Rem Koolhaas to redesign interiors of the North Delegates’ Lounge at the United Nations building in New York, she refreshed the modernist landmark with bespoke carpeting and furnishings in bold colors along with a custom beaded curtain of hand-knotted yarn and some 30,000 porcelain beads. A book, 2016’s I Have No Favorite Colour, followed by the following year’s Breathing Colour exhibition at the Design Musuem London articulated her philosophy of hues and tints, while her cabin interiors for KLM airlines put it into practice.

Recently, Jongerius has begun exploring the possibilities of porcelain, in commissions for vases and tableware. Projects throughout her ongoing career and the B Set dinnerware service can be found in the permanent collections of MoMA, Victoria and Albert Museum, and Boijmans van Beuningen Museum.