INTRODUCING OLIVIA TOGNELLI BRONTÉN

Olivia Tognelli Brontén is a Swedish object and spatial designer and one of the resident designers of the PN1 project. Olivia lives and works in Stockholm. With her design practice, she's interested in examining social and cultural traditions.

After the PN1 residency in Buenos Aires, Olivia spoke with PAVILION NORDICO team member Nele Ruckelshausen about her practice. Olivia's work and that of the other designers will be on view at the upcoming PN1 exhibition on November 26th, 2020.

What's your origin story as a designer?
I graduated with a bachelors degree in fine arts from Beckmans College of Design in Stockholm Sweden 2019. Before that, I studied a semester of interior architecture at FlDI in Florence. It was in Italy, after doing an internship at Studio Leonardo Rossano, that I realized that design was something I actually could work with. After that I came across different design jobs, which intrigued me to work more within the field!

My passion for design developed subtly and subconsciously. My childhood home had a lot of attention for detail, with carefully selected furniture and corny objects. I've always been a sensitive person who's very affected by their surroundings. Over time, it just became more and more obvious that I somehow wanted to be a part of creating these objects and environments.

What did you work on for PN1 and who did you work with? 
My pieces for PN1 are made at Argentina's last crystal glass factory, Cristalería San Carlos. The partner design studio Sur del Cruz helped me create the molds. Studio Ries, Juan Garcia Mosqueda from Quick Tiny Shows, and Bettina Nelson also helped me in the process. I worked with wood and natural textures to try and force the glass into different kinds of voids. My main inspiration for this has been the contrast between Buenos Aires urban codes and the city's vegetation. 

What surprised you the most about Argentina?
The big contrasts, long distances and huge variety of everything there! Buenos Aires feels like many different cities in one. But overall I'd say I’m most surprised of how few differences there are between Europe and Buenos Aires. The biggest difference is that people in Buenos Aires seem to have a much more relaxed attitude towards life. 

What did you take away from the PN1 residency?
There's so much talent gathered around PN1, and that's really inspiring. I tried to be like a sponge, soaking up all the stories and experiences of the other designers at the residency as well as the rest of the great people that we are working with. I'm very happy to have been a part of it!