Tastemaker's Choice – Hanna Nova Beatrice for Contemporary Art & Design
With Tastemaker’s Choice, we invite inspiring voices from the worlds of art and design to share their favourite pieces from our quality auctions, objects that capture their eye and spark their imagination.
As part of Contemporary Art & Design, we are delighted to feature Hanna Nova Beatrice, founder and creative director of The New Era Magazine and Chief Brand Officer at Nordiska Galleriet Group. She previously served as Director of Stockholm Furniture Fair and Stockholm Design Week, and has held editor-in-chief positions at publications including Residence, My Residence, Plaza and Form. Here, she shares her favourite pieces from the auction – a selection that reflects her discerning eye for contemporary art and design.
I think it has always been there. My father had a small antiques shop when I was a child, and furniture and objects came and went in our home. We often went to auctions and car boot sales. It was a way of spending time together and talking about all sorts of things – people, history and the way we live. I suppose it is still much the same for me today.
I have a lot of Swedish design at home – pieces I have bought directly from designers, at auction, or furniture designed and made in Sweden. Some pieces are replaced from time to time, while others stay. I have spent much of my life promoting Swedish design internationally, through writing, exhibitions, my former role at Stockholm Furniture Fair and my magazine, The New Era Magazine. So perhaps it is no surprise that I have quite a lot of Swedish design at home.
“I am drawn to things that have a voice of their own. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly what that means, but perhaps it has to do with capturing the spirit of a particular time – an object that says something about the era in which it was made”.
I think the things I have been given mean the most to me, particularly gifts from designers. One example is a chair by Åke Axelsson, which he gave me the day after his 90th birthday. We had shown it in his exhibition Talking to Åke, which I curated at Sven-Harry's Art Museum. He was not entirely convinced by the chair himself, but I felt it captured the spirit of its time and revealed another side of his work. After a conversation with him at the museum, he went off to fetch the chair and presented it to me on stage. It was a lovely moment.
I am drawn to things that have a voice of their own. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly what that means, but perhaps it has to do with capturing the spirit of a particular time – an object that says something about the era in which it was made. You also tend to appreciate objects more as you get to know them. In my role at Nordiska Galleriet, I work closely with designers and follow the journey of furniture from the initial idea to the finished product. NM3, for example, designed a beautiful table for NOGA.
“There is a sense of freedom in the way the designers have approached form, materials and proportions in this selection, which I really like”.
They say something about their time. There is a sense of freedom in the way the designers have approached form, materials and proportions, which I really like. I love Källemo, particularly several of its earlier pieces, and the courage the company has as a producer to give a clear idea room to speak for itself. A Swedish treasure.
Live Auction: October 27–28 2026
Hanna Nova Beatrice's favourites from Contemporary Art & Design