With the Stockholm Furniture Fair going on in Sweden we’re all sitting on the edge of our seats waiting to see what is new in one of the greatest design hubs on the planet. Scandinavia design, in its wooden perfection, has always been a favorite style of mine. Although designers and companies from across the globe are represented at the fair, Gärsnäs is one in particular that you should keep your eye on.

Motion bench. Designed by Monica Förster for Gärsnäs.

A Modern Seating Motion: The Modern Scandinavian Bench by Monica Förster for Gärsnäs

Last year, Monica Förster introduced a bench for Gärsnäs that created quite the commotion (no pun intended). In natural birch veneer that can be stained or lacquered, the Motion bench comes in right- and left-sections that can be linked together or left separate. However you choose to set them up, each section contains thin planks of wood on the back that slope down or up based on different heights. I suppose it looks a bit like a wave, actually, but with a very gradual, smooth flow to it. When the benches come together, each asymmetrical piece forms a continuous movement from left to right, and vice versa.

Versatility is second nature to the Motion bench as it can occupy public or private spaces, playing on the modern design and its appeal as a bench that make it ideal for wallflower seating units. Thanks to Monica Förster’s childhood home, near the Arctic circle in northern Sweden, Gärsnäs describes her work as one that “is characterized by a strong sense of pure form mixed with a neverending curiosity for new materials and technology.” She has worked with some of the best furniture manufacturers around the world – like Cappellini, Poltrona Frau, De Padova, Tacchini, Modus, E&Y Japan, Offecct, Swedese, and Zero – and has won numerous awards on both national and international levels. In addition Förster teaches and lectures in the field of design at various universities and institutions.

Since 1983, the Gärsnäs factory in southeast Sweden has been making modern Scandinavian furniture that achieves absolute form and function. Clearly walking the same line, Motion bench harnesses the steadfast beauty of their evolving furnishings.