SWAROVSKI AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN AUSTRIAN DESIGN

In 2018, Swarovski granted, for the first time in a partnership with the VIENNA DESIGN WEEK, the Swarovski Award for Excellence in Austrian Design. Every other year, creatives in the fields of product and graphic design and also design organizations are eligible to win this award. That is, as long as they managed to create a stir among Austria’s designers within the past 24 months. The award, a crystalline sculpture in the shape of a V, representing Vienna, was created by star designer Ron Arad for the Atelier Swarovski Home Decór line.

In a clear formal language peppered with witty and intelligent commentary, the furniture and other products of Klemens Schillinger, a popular regular guest at the VIENNA DESIGN WEEK, represents the most exciting thing that Austria’s design scene currently has to offer. At a gala in Palais Coburg, Schillinger received the very first Swarovski Award for Excellence in Austrian Design, much to the joy of everyone involved. “The minimalist is lauded for his unexpected product solutions, each with a decidedly poetic charm,” as the jury put it. Well deserved!

Jury members: Aric Chen (M+ Hongkong, curator-at-large), Alice Rawsthorn (Design critic, London), Stefan Sagmeister (Designer, New York), Nadja Swarovski (Swarovski, Member of the Executive Board), Lilli Hollein (VIENNA DESIGN WEEK)