By Lindsay Peyton 

The design and art of Bjørn Wiinblad’s time in his native Denmark was austere and minimal, with straight lines and limited palettes of color. 

That just wasn’t Wiinblad’s style. 

He burst on the scene with colorful, joyful, playful images, building a magical world in his paintings, designs, ceramics, metal works and textiles. 

His work found an audience around the world – and a retrospective of Wiinblad’s designs and art is now open at the Nordic Heritage Museum, 3014 NW 67th St. in Ballard. 

“The Whimsical World of Bjørn Wiinblad” is on display through Nov. 5. 

Jonathan Sajda, the museum’s program manager, explained that Tova Brandt, the Albert Ravenholt Curator of Danish-American Culture, was the creative spark for the show. 

She wanted to explore a version of the Wiinblad retrospective developed by the ARKEN Museum of Modern Art in Denmark – and began a conversation with Sajda about the possibility about a year ago.

Sajda said the timing was perfect. 

The museum’s CEO Eric Nelson and special projects coordinator Kristine Bendix Knudsen had both recently seen the exhibit in Denmark. 

“Tova walks in and says, ‘Are you interested?’” Sajda recalled. “We were all like, ‘Yes! If you build it, we will bring it here.’”

The resulting exhibit is a celebration of the artist’s career – with several large works on loan from Denmark and an assortment of pieces from private collections in the U.S.

A wide variety of media is represented – from graphic art and ceramics to theatre sets, costumes and tapestries.  There are even examples of the artist’s designs used in jigsaw puzzles and playing cards.

“There are numerous people here who grew up in Denmark and grew up with Wiinblad,” Sajda said. “They have his plates in the kitchen, his linens in the drawer. It’s great when our museum is able to present something with a historical context that is also something that impacts people today. Wiinblad embodies that.”

Wiinblad was born in 1918 and died in 2006. 

“When you think of his childhood in Denmark, he was born into World War 1, and then he’s smack dab in World War II,” Sajda said. “These are depressing times – and yet he’s coming up with these fantastic designs and colors.”

His contemporaries embraced modernism and minimalism instead. 

“And then you have Wiinblad who’s whimsical, colorful, vibrant and lively, even campy in some ways – intentionally and proudly so,” Sajda said. “As much as his style and aesthetic was outsider, he was very much celebrated, accepted and embraced by all different kinds of designers.”

The curators for the exhibit played off Wiinblad’s colorful and unconventional style – adding squares of color to the walls and floor, skewed pedal stools and objects and frames hung at unusual angles. 

“This is our last exhibit in the facility,” Sajda said. “It’s nice to go out with something this fun.”

The Nordic Heritage Museum will move to Market St. next year. “This kind of exhibit definitely speaks to what one can expect in the new museum,” Sajda said. “This type of exhibit tells a story and bridges the past and present. That’s what we want to do – and that’s where we want to go.”

Museum CEO Eric Nelson is proud to provide a home for Wiinblad’s work at the museum. There are four pieces in the show that have been acquired and are now part of its permanent collection, called “Four Corners of the World.”

“I was fortunate enough to see the Wiinblad retrospective when it was up at the Arken Museum in Denmark and was incredibly impressed by the works on display,” Nelson said. “We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to bring this exhibition to Seattle and share this wonderful artist with our community.”

He is eager to bring more top-notch exhibits to the new location. “I’m extremely pleased to report that the new facility is on schedule and on budget,” he said. “We’re looking forward to a spectacular grand opening next May.”

For more information, visit http://nordicmuseum.org.