Born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg, Russia) in 1953, Boris graduated from the Higher School of Art and Industry, St. Petersburg in 1975. He began his career as an industrial and graphic designer at VNIITE, Leningrad, where he designed a wide range of industrial products.
In 1983 moved to Denmark founding Boris Berlin Design.
In 1987 he is co-founder and partner of Komplot Design and in 2010 he is founding partner of Iskos-Berlin Design.
Boris Berlin’s activities are mainly within product and furniture design, but he also undertakes exhibition and graphic design projects.
In his design he focuses on experimenting with new technologies and materials exploring their possibilities and impact on design of everyday objects.
The geography of his clients spreads from Denmark and Sweden to USA and Japan, including such companies as Gubi, Hay, Muuto, Normann, Fritz Hansen, R+R, Källemo, Tendo Mokko, Stylex Seating, Jot.Jot and so forth.
His designs received numerous distinctions and design awards, among them: Dansk Designpris, G-Mark (Japanese Golden Design Award), The Forum AID Award: Best Nordic product, Red Dot – Best of the Best Award, Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany, etc. and his works are represented in design museums around the world, among them: Design Museum Denmark, Trapholt, Designmuseo, Die Neue Sammlung – The International Design Museum Munich, Museum of Modern Art, New York, Vitra Design Museum, etc.
Boris Berlin is awarded the Thorvald Bindesbøll Medal by the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts for excellence in the fields of applied art and industrial design and the lifelong Honorary Grant of the Danish Arts Foundation.
He has curated and designed diverse design exhibitions and participated in a number of exhibitions, led master classes in various design schools and was invited as a key-note speaker at several design conferences.
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Exhibitions (selection)
1987 – 2006 — Annual participation in Scandinavian Furniture Fair & Furniture Fairs in Milan, Cologne and Tokyo
1988 – 2024 — SE, Cabinetmakers Autumn Exhibition, Copenhagen
1992 — XVIII Design Triennale, Milano
1992 – 1994 — Danish Design - Richness and Simplicity, Bratislava, Slovakia; Athens, Greece; Milan, Italy
1995 — Contemporary Danish Design, Sophienholm
1995 — Design - the Artistic Dimension, Copenhagen
1995 — Design, process and result, Copenhagen
1995 – 2004 — 100 % design, London
1998 — Industrial Design, Before and After, ID-Forum, Horsens
1998 — Sven Lundh’s Eye, Stockholm
1999 – 2003 — Spectrum, London
1999 — “Designers Profile”, Bella Center, Copenhagen
1999 — “Empty Spaces”, Munich
2000 – 2001 — “DANSK FORM tur-retur”, Hamburg, Germany; Gl. Dok, Copenhagen
2001 — “Danes on the move”, New York
2002 — St. Etienne International Design Biennale, France
2002 — “Utopia and Reality”, Danish Museum of Art & Design, Copenhagen
2003 — Danish Slow Life House, Tokyo
2004 — “Sven Lundh’s Eye” St.Petersburg, Halmstad
2005 — “Svens Design” Trapholt, Kolding
2003 – 2005 — “Scandinavian Design Beyond the Myth” Berlin, Milan, Gent, Prague, Budapest, Riga, Glasgow, Copenhagen
2005 – 2006 — “Use it! Danish Design in Everyday Life”, DDC, Copenhagen
2007 — “Composites – On the Tour – 2”, Bruxelles,
2007 — “20 Years Of Design Dialogue”, Danish Museum of Art & Design, Copenhagen
2008 — "DESIGNS OF THE YEAR" Inaugural Exhibition and Awards Celebrating the Best in International Design over Last 12 Months. Design Museum, London
2009 — Biennale Prisvindere – Trapholt, Kolding/ Danish Museum of Art & Design, Copenhagen
2009 – 2010 — Danish Design: Komplot ”Process” - Staatliches Museum für Kunst und Design in Nürnberg
2013 — “Nordic Cool 2013” Festival: Exhibition “Nordic Design Illustrated”, The Kennedy Center, Washington
2014 — “MINDCRAFT” / “The Birth of Marilyn” at Design Festival, Milano
2015 — “REALTIME”, Gallery Superobjekt, Copenhagen
2016 — ICONIC AWARDS 2016 – Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne
2016 — SE-15 “Petit”- Maison du Danemark, Paris
2016 — “Learning from Japan”, Design Museum, Copenhagen
2016 — “Danish Design Now”, Design Museum, Copenhgen
2016 — “Danish Chair – An International Affair”, Design Museum Denmark, Copenhagen
2017 — “Eat Me”, Trapholt, Kolding
2017 — “Everyday Life”, 21st Century Museum, Kanazawa
2021 — "Modernism Crystallized – Family Affair", Galerie Maria Wettergren, Paris
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Curator and exhibition architect
2001 — “Livsrum”/ “Life Space”, Danish Museum of Art & Design, Copenhagen
2003 — “Denmark – Pure Design”, St. Petersburg
2004 – 2006 — “40 Chairs in 4 Feet”- Celebration of 40 years of David Rowland’s “40/4” chair,
— CIFF/ Copenhagen, ORGATEC/Cologne, Munich, Berlin, Triennale di Milano/Milan,
— Svensk Form/Stockholm, Danish Museum of Art & Design/Copenhagen.
2006 — “Cross Examination / KORSFÖRHÖR av och med Boris Berlin”. Vandalorum / Smålands
— Konstarkiv, Värnamo.
2007 — “20 Years Of Design Dialogue”, Danish Museum of Art & Design, Copenhagen
2009 — Biennale Prisvindere – Trapholt, Kolding/ Danish Museum of Art & Design, Copenhagen
2009 — Danish Design: Komplot ”Process” Installation in cooperation between Die Neue Sammlung - The International Design Museum Munich and Neues Museum - Staatliches Museum für Kunst und Design in — Nürnberg
2012 — “Lost Control” in the World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 during Helsinki Design Week
2012 — “Lost Control” in the Danish Design Centre, Copenhagen
2016 — “Danish Chair – The International Affair”, Design Museum Denmark, Copenhagen
2021 — "Modernism Crystallized – Family Affair", Galerie Maria Wettergren, Paris
2022 — “Little Table, Cover Thyself!", Design Museum Denmark, Copenhagen
2024 — "Frankfurter Kitchen", Design Museum Denmark, Copenhagen
2024 — “Danish Chair – An International Affair”, Design Museum Denmark, Copenhagen
2024 — “Kaare Klint”, Design Museum Denmark, Copenhagen
2024 — Intro to “Danish Modern”, Design Museum Denmark, Copenhagen
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Design awards and distinctions (selection)
1989 — 1. Prize IBD Competition, Table category, for “Collage”, USA
1989 — Merket for God Design, Norwegian Design Council, for “Collage” tables, NO
1991 — Scandinavian Furniture Award for “Vision”, DK
1991 — G-Mark (Japanese Golden Design Award) for “Collage” tables, JP
1991 — TOP Danmark Award for “Terra Vita” (together with Stuart Clyens), DK
1992 — Transit Carrier purchased by the Danish National Art Foundation, DK
1992 — Merket for God Design, Norwegian Design Council for “Vision”, NO
1993 — The Danish Art Foundation Prize for "Antelope" chair, DK
1996 — 2. Prize in Forsnäs Nordic Design Competition, SE
2000 — Utmärkt Svensk Form for “Longo”, SE
2000 — Klassiker-prisen, Norwegian Design Council, for “Collage” tables, NO
2001 — Årets designpris 2001 for”NON” chair, Bo Bedre, DK
2001 — 1. Prize in Rubber Competition for “NON”, London, GB
2001 — Utmärkt Svensk Form, honourable mention for "NON" chair, SE
2001 — Nomination to Den Danske Designpris for "NON" chair, DK
2001 — Merket for God Design, Norwegian Design Council for "VIVA" collection, NO
2002 — Sköna Hem, Årets Möbel 2002, for "NON" chair, SE
2002 — The Furniture Prize "Møbelprisen 2002", DK
2003 — “Rum Pris“ for the best showroom design at the Copenhagen Furniture Mart (for Howe A/S), DK
2003 — Bo Bedre, Årets Møbelpris 2003 for “Gubi” chair, DK
2003 — The Architectural Review award for product excellence at Spectrum, London, for “Genus” chair, GB
2003 — Innovation Award, Best of NeoCon 2003 for “Gubi” chair, USA
2003 — Gold Award, Best of NeoCon 2003 for “Genus” chair, USA
2003 — Best Product of 100% Design 2003 / Blueprint Award for “Gubi” chair, GB
2004 — Forsnäs pris for “Gubi” chair, SE
2004 — Red Dot Award for “Gubi” chair, DE
2004 — Dansk Designpris for “Gubi” stoleserie, DK
2004 — ELLE Interiör Designpris for ”Gubi” chair, SE
2005 — 1st Prize for The Best New Export Products of Latvia 2005 for Python chair, LV
2006 — Silver Award, Best of NeoCon 2006 for "Avo" chair, USA
2006 — The Danish Art Foundation's Prize for the exhibition "Forty Chairs in Four Feet", DK
2006 — Formland Spring 2006 Award for The POT FOR ONE FLOWER, DK
2006 — GOOD DESIGN Award of The Chicago Athenaeum for Avo chair, USA
2007 — 1st Prize in the International Composites Design Competition, BE
2007 — Red Dot – Best of the Best Award for “Gubi Chair II”, DE
2007 — “Gubi Chair II Collection” – Top Nominee of INDEX: Design Award, DK
2007 — Crafts and Design Biennial Prize 2007 for "NOBODY" chair, DK
2007 — GOOD DESIGN Award of The Chicago Athenaeum for Luna chair, USA
2008 — The Forum AID Award: Best Nordic product design 2008 for NOBODY chair, SE
2008 — Outdoor furniture “Concrete Things” purchased by the Danish Art Foundation, DK
2009 — Winner of the 1st place in category “Home Interior Furniture” IDA08, USA
2009 — MACHINA DESIGN AWARD in category "making the world better" - for eco-values, PL
2009 — DESIGN PLUS 2009 Award / Material Vision by German Design Council for NOBODY chair, DE
2010 — Merket for God Design, Norwegian Design Council for "Clip" tables, NO
2011 — Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany for NOBODY & Little NOBODY chairs, DE
2012 — Plaza Magazin Award “Lamp of the Year” for Under the Bell, SE
2014 — Interior Innovation Award for JUST chair: Selection 2014 by German Design Council, DE
2014 — Inga og Ejvind Kold Christensens Foundation’s Honorary Award, DK
2015 — Thorvald Bindesbøll Medal by the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, DK
2016 — ICONIC AWARDS 2016: Interior Innovation – Best of Best by German Design Council, DE
2017 — Glass bench “Presence-Absence” purchased by the Danish National Art Foundation, DK
2018 — Red Dot Award for 5-Waves chair series, DE
2018 — NYC x Design Award 2018 for BaBa chair & BaBaBa sofa, USA
2018 — Best of Year Awards Winners 2018 NYCxDESIGN in category Seating:Contract:Lounge
2018 — Gold A'Design Award for the exhibition The Danish Chair at Designmuseum Denmark
2019 — GOOD DESIGN Award of The Chicago Athenaeum for Shadow chair, USA
2020 — German Design Award in the category "Excellent Product Design" for Dry chair, DE
2022 — Lifelong Honorary Grant of the Danish Arts Foundation, DK
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Collections (selection
— The Danish Art Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark
— Design Museum Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
— Röhsska museet, Gothenburg, Sweden
— Trapholt, Kolding, Denmark
— Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
— Indianapolis Museum of Art, USA
— Designmuseo/Design Museum, Helsinki, Finland
— Die Neue Sammlung - The International Design Museum Munich, Germany
— Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany
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Guest lecturing, master classes & workshops
— Betzalel Art Academy, Jerusalem, Israel
— Statens Håndverks- og Kunstindustriskole, Oslo, Norway
— University for Art and Design, Helsinki, Finland
— Danmarks Design Skole, Copenhagen, Denmark
— Aarhus Arkitekt Skole, Denmark
— Hong-Ik University, Soul, South Korea
— Design Seminar, Nordic Council of Ministers, Riga, Latvia
— Art Academy, Riga, Latvia
— Art Academy, Vilnius, Lithuania
— Design Institute, Hong Kong
— Business of Design Week (BoDW), Hong Kong
— Munich Creative Business Week (MCBW), Germany
— Knowledge of Design Week (KoDW), Hong Kong
— Furniture Seminar, The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, KADK, Denmark
— Zagreb Design Days, Croatia
— Stroganovsky High School of Arts, Moscow
— Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow
— Tallinn Design Days, Estonia