Johanna Grawunder

Johanna Grawunder is an artist and designer based between Italy and the US, known for her monumental light and colour installations. Embracing the aesthetics of popular technology, including the visual effects of digital colours, lights and high-performance materials, Grawunder has crafted a visual language that feels acutely attuned to the present day. Her work reflects a world moving, sometimes uneasily, towards a technological future.  

Grawunder’s work ranges from large-scale public installations, architectural interventions and interior design to limited-edition furniture and light collections. Born in San Diego, she studied a degree in architecture in Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, California. She then studied and worked in Florence with Gianni Pettena and Cristiano Toraldo di Francia, before moving to Milan to work with Sottsass Associati, where she became a partner and designed many of the firm’s most prestigious projects. In 2001, she opened her own design studio in Milan and San Francisco. 

Grawunder was drawn to the medium of light early in her career, always aiming to incorporate architectural principles, non-precious building materials and high-technology light research into her designs. She often uses energy-efficient mass production materials, such as polished stainless steel, steel cables, painted metal and coloured acrylic, aiming to reveal the beauty of these basic materials through light, shape and colour. Works like Four Square (2018), Circuit A (2018) and GoldBar (2013) illustrate how the artist pairs her modernist aesthetic with simple production and energy efficiency to redefine luxury in the present age. 

Grawunder has participated in exhibitions at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Museo di Arredo Contemporaneo, Triennale di Milano, Noor Riyadh Light Festival and Guan Shan-Yue Art Museum. Her work features in the permanent collections of institutions including High Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Centre national des arts plastiques, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Art Institute of Chicago, Denver Art Museum and Musée des Arts Décoratifs. Her light installations are also permanently displayed in the restaurant of the Museum of Arts and Design in New York.  

Grawunder was named Collective Influence Honoree 2018 by Collective Design and has received various Wallpaper* Design Awards. She has featured in books such as Woman Made-Great Women Designers (Phaidon Press Limited, 2021), 21st Century Lighting Design (Bloomsbury, 2014), Femmes Designers (Aubanel, 2009), Dish (Princeton Architectural Press, 2005) and World Atlas of Contemporary Architecture (Phaidon Press, 2004). 

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