Movement as a principle : New exhibition honours the legacy of HAG Capisco designer Peter Opsvik

Peter Opsvik – Moved by Movement is a new exhibition at the Rørosmuseet, celebrating the life and works of a designer who spent his career questioning one simple assumption: that sitting should be still.

Peter Opsvik (1939–2024) built his work around the belief that the human body is not designed for static positions. But he was not only an industrial designer. The exhibition presents him as a complete creative figure - artist, musician and designer - tracing parallel timelines of his visual art, his work as a jazz musician, and his contributions to furniture design.

Globally, however, his industrial designs are what makes him stand out. From the widely recognised Tripp Trapp chair, found in homes across Norway and beyond, to experimental seating concepts and sculptural pieces, it demonstrates how consistently Opsvik returned to the same idea: movement is fundamental.

Among the works featured is HÅG Capisco, developed through Opsvik’s collaboration with HÅG, which began in the 1970s and led to its launch in 1984. Today, HÅG is part of the Flokk group, and HÅG Capisco remains one of the brand’s most enduring and internationally recognised designs.

At the opening on the exhibition, visitors were treated to a rare gathering of voices from this defining period of HÅG’s history, including former CEO Torgeir Mjør Grimsrud, who led the company’s strategic transformation in the 1970s and worked closely with Peter Opsvik as a new direction for the brand took shape.

The panel was led by Anita Rekdal, a former long-time HÅG partner and early advocate for the company’s seating philosophy, joined by Rune Ødegaard, who has worked with HÅG and now Flokk for four decades, and Kirsti Flørenes Vandraas, Project Director at Peter Opsvik AS and a long-time collaborator with Opsvik.

Rethinking sitting

The discussion reflected on a period when HÅG was at a crossroads and the industry was defined by uniformity. Office chairs were built to stabilise the body, not to support movement. The collaboration with Opsvik introduced a different premise: that sitting should adapt to the body, not the other way around.

What emerged from the conversation was not nostalgia, but perspective. Ideas that once felt unconventional are now widely accepted across the industry. Designing for movement, variation and active sitting has become central to how workplace wellbeing is understood today.

The panel underscored how that shift was not driven by trend, but by a belief in observing how people naturally move. It was this principle - rather than a single product - that ultimately shaped HÅG’s direction and continues to influence how seating is approached.

While Capisco stands as one of Opsvik’s most recognisable designs, the exhibition makes clear that his philosophy extended far beyond one product. Throughout his career, Opsvik explored how design could support the body’s natural instincts, from children’s seating to experimental furniture that blurred the line between object and sculpture.

For HÅG however, the collaboration with Opsvik represented a turning point. It introduced a movement-based approach that became part of the brand’s identity. Since then, HÅG has continued to evolve through new technologies, materials and designer collaborations. As part of Flokk today, the brand remains defined by a commitment to dynamic seating, shaped by decades of development and innovation.

A celebration of ongoing relevance

The opening event at Rørosmuseet was not framed as a look backwards. It was a celebration of a body of work that still feels contemporary. The human body has not changed. Our need to move has not diminished. If anything, modern working patterns make that need more visible.

The exhibition honours Peter Opsvik’s contribution to design. The panel discussion highlighted how his collaboration with HÅG helped redirect a company and influence the entire office seating industry.

Peter Opsvik – Moved by Movement will exhibit from 6^th March – mid-September 2026. For more information, you can visit the museum website here