Judith Byberg

During these years of work I focused my efforts in researching a way to express the 'language' of Felt, crafting artistic yet common objects such as lamps, curtains and rugs.

My goal is not only to create something which is aesthetically pleasing, but also to convey the language of Nature; I found Felt to best material for such endeavor, and I never stopped being amazed by the new possibilities and ideas that this material offered me.

The process that leads to the making of my work is, and always must be, simple and genuine in each of its steps: I have to preserve a synergistic relationship with the material, while designing and producing, and a more intrusive, mechanized process tends to ruin the unique qualities of Felt and the signs of its link to Nature.

Due to the fact that I hand-craft each one of my work, each individual centimeter of felt can be distinguished from the others by color, texture and smell: The Bergshaf wool I use is untreated and 'wild', so my felt sometimes contains grass blades or other 'impurities' that tell a story of the animal they once belonged too; I cherish these differences, and try to preserve them by keeping the manufacturing process as minimal and non-intrusive as possible. In light of this, i chose not to use machines or tools in order to create: only water, soap and a big amount of manual labor.

Is because of Felt's unique nature and history (as one of the oldest materials to be used by mankind, because it does not require any tools to be produced) that i decided to look more into the value of this material, allowing others to experience the sensation, the touch, the warmth and the other fine details that enrich and define all that is natural and deeply tied to our common roots.

My ultimate goal is to shine a spotlight on the Man and his natural longing for comfort and well being, trying to invoke in the viewer raw and unfiltered emotions and hopefully making him/her reflect on ecological themes such as mindful use of resources and recycling.

Recently i found validation for my efforts, having been offered an opportunity to exhibit in several art galleries: the “Contini Art Factory” in Venice, the “Voyage Pittoresque Factory” in Naples, “Spazio Tid” in Milan, Pila gallery Orta San Giulio, "Ecomuseo" in Leumann industrial Village, Collegno(To) and Chiostro di Voltorre (Va).

I was born in Roskilde, in Denmark, in 1963. I moved to Italy in 1976 and obtained my school leaving certificate from an School of Arts. I continued my studies at the Milan Polytechnic, from where I graduated in 1989 with a degree in architecture, discussing a thesis project in Industrial Design. I worked in the studio of Carlotta de Bevilacqua from 1989 to 1994, developing projects for interior design, graphic design and exhibition spaces. More recently I have designed products for Piazza and Virutex Ilko in the household-ware and kitchenware sectors.