Kvant-1 | "The unknown is one of the most powerful fuels of imagination" A concept design studio from Norway
theFOUND Virtual Art Center this TALK with Kvant-1 studio from Norway. With more than 40 years of industry experience, Aarseth, O'Leary and Sletten launched Kvant-1 2020 to further explore the potential of conceptual design and illustration. All Kvant-1 projects are unique. They hope to capture these unique features through their images and further develop them into truly special and charming products.
Kvant-1 is not only an architect and artist, but also an explorer of the natural world, the unknown world and mysterious things. They cooperate with the environment, learn from nature and give back to human society. They marvel at the charm of nature, the dry and cracked land, the wet rainy season, light, shadow, wind... And even darkness is the source of their inspiration. Nature is cherished and protected by them, as can be seen from their works. With the progress of science and technology, innovation and application and art, Kvant-1 they also get inspiration from it. But it's more like a game. Technology is just one of its forms to better show their ideas and convey them to the audience. They are always curious about the world. They maintain a childlike innocence and innocence to explore unconventional fields.
Q&A
theFOUND & Kvant-1
Q1:
Can you tell us how the Kvant-1 studio was established? What is its special design concept and meaning?
We had all delved into many forms of creative work over the years in fields including architecture, landscape design, installation art, transport design, painting, and photography, and we came to the realization that we used a similar process across all these fields.
It seemed like our full scope of abilities was rarely being utilized and in particular that the act of illustration could play a much more important role in the design process.
It seemed like there was a relatively unexplored garrison between art, architecture and graphics that we all had a desire to investigate further. We had all experimented with this concept on many occasions before, but had never really had the opportunity to explore it fully. KVANT-1 serves as a research vessel to drive that investigation.
Q2:
On your website introduction, the introduction of members is composed of a group of interesting digital art pictures. Can you talk to us about this? How do studio members usually get along?
We make, for the most part, digital art and design under the KVANT-1 umbrella. So therefore, choosing to present our portraits in a similar fashion seemed more relevant and meaningful to us than choosing to have, for example, a photograph of our physical vessel.In reality, we are a tight knit little bunch. The people in the office next door mock us because we have our desks so close to each other, go to the shop together, dress similarly and get haircuts at the same time.
Q3:
Each of your projects is special and challenging. Which of these projects is particularly meaningful to you?
After having worked on a string of architectural projects in arid locations, we were completely taken off guard by the beauty of the parched, barren landscapes. The textures, the atmosphere, the quality of light, the variation; it was like experiencing the world anew again. In the team’s innocent minds, there lay mystery and wonder everywhere.
Thus, the temple project was born. A series of images celebrating the natural world, the unknown and the spirit of exploration. The scene is set in a land foreign to all where the definition is deliberately undefined. Built upon a disintegration of absolutes the Temple is an interplay of seeming contradictions. Dark becomes light, the stone becomes flesh, barrenness becomes life, grounded becomes weightless, solid becomes fluid. The unknown is one of the most potent fuels for imagination. And in the midst of the pandemic, partly as a form of escapism due to the restrictions, we set about exploring more of the unknown. Inspired by tales of the orient, stories of pyramids and the man himself Indiana Jones, the temple project is an ode to both mystery and understanding and ultimately, to imagine.
Q4:
From your creative projects, we can feel the praise of the natural world, the unknown and the spirit of exploration. What impact and inspiration have your design received?
Of course every project is based on its own idea or brief. So the bulk of the inspiration is completely fresh each time. From there the rest of the inspiration would come from our individual personal biases, ie being human. So, our interests, preferences, the people around us, nature, etc.
Q5:
Many of your projects are related to architecture and the natural environment. How do you deal with the relationship between the two in your projects to make them look very harmonious?
We all come from an architectural background and contemporary architecture, is constantly forced to be more respectful and work together with the environment on a number of levels. The importance of the site of an architectural project can’t be emphasized enough.
We also live in the Norwegian city of Bergen, which is simply put, surrounded by nature. All of us in the studio spend a good deal of our spare time exploring the fjords and mountains within which Bergen is nestled. So nature is without doubt something we hold dear and wish to preserve.
Q6:
Your team is from Norway. How do you integrate different cultures into your design concepts and plan to promote them to the World?
Although we are based in Norway, most of our projects tend to be international, so different cultures are integrated by default with each brief. In saying that, of course we have our own agenda to be as authentic and varied as we can, so different cultures provide a rich source of inspiration.
Q7:
How do you view the changes of the new expression of the art design to social communication under the integration of digital virtual art and science and Technology?
We are not as driven by technology as we may seem. Our concepts tend to be idea driven and focused around the project in question. The technology merely tries to help us achieve the goals set forth by the idea.
But of course you do see many trends/styles emerging whereby new technology or the trend itself is the driving inspiration. This is not dissimilar from the past with the emergence of new movements in art, so that is the way the game has always been.
Q8:
What are the expectations for the future development of kvant-1?
We do have a lot of our own projects in the incubator needing to get out. In particular, leaning more towards the side of fine art. Our plan is to thin them back to those which we believe in the most, and find a responsible, real world way to get them to fruition.
