The Unika exhibition of Danish applied art took place in late December and early January. Fifty-two young artists, representatives of new trends in Danish design, presented their works. At the Xawery Dunikowski Museum of Sculpture in Warsaw's Królikarnia Palace, you could see contemporary designs including pottery, furniture, textiles and glass.

"The goal of the exhibition is to show the developments in today's Danish applied art. We presented works by artists who, first and foremost, are characterized by variety of form and expression," said the exhibition's curator, textile artist Paul Jensen. Danish design has a long tradition. In time, it has become a symbol of utility and a specifically Scandinavian way of interior design; it is a mirror of society and contemporary trends, whose ideal is to improve the quality of life through design and good quality, at moderate prices.
According to the organizers of Unika, the exhibition is an attempt to show the evolution of Danish applied art. The young artists have a solid, traditional background, at the same time freely drawing on whatever the world has to offer. "The traditional design features simple shapes and delicate colors. The artists presented at Unika feel these fundamentals, but they give them a new formal expression," said Jensen. The young generation of Danish artists, on one hand, responds to the challenges offered by globalization and technology, on the other-seek out traditional sources. The result, as could be seen at Unika, is both variety of the materials and forms, and the traditional love of geometry. "An style frequently noticed in the works gathered at the exhibition is the breaking up of the solid structure," said Jensen. There is also no lack of innovative solutions. A roller chair by Hans Sandgren Jakobsen is a combination of Scandinavian sleekness of form with a clear reference to a Hindu fakir's bed of nails. There is much room for humor and distance to one's own creative work. Faience works modeled in the shape of a pregnant woman are vessels. Next to them-sharper in form, digital pictures of hands magnified effectively show contrast.

The Unika exhibit, organized by the Danish Institute of Culture, was already presented in Denmark, Belgium and Luxembourg. Following its presentation in Poland, the exhibition went to Estonia, and then will be on a tour of Germany, the Netherlands, England and Ireland.