Finn Juhl

Visited the Danish Design Center in Copenhagen and saw their exhibit called “Living Wood.” There was a large room filled with fantastic furniture designed in wood. There were immaculate specimens from Thonet to Eames, but one of my favorites was the Chieftain chair by Finn Juhl in 1949.

Finn Juhl’s furniture designs are simple, yet extraordinary. A clear example of this duality is in this sofa design below (image found at ModCulture). There are a number of great images of other Finn Juhl designs at Architonic and arcspace and images from his house at Materialicious and MidCenturyModernist.com (I really like Juhl’s art collection!)

Finn Juhl (1912–1989) was trained in Architecture at the Royal Academy in Copenhagen (1934) and studied for ten years in the offices of Danish architect Vilhelm Lauritzen. He was, however, a self-taught furniture designer. His designs were primarily for his own use, until his architecture office became known for its unique and sculptural furniture. In 1951, Juhl was given the challenge and honor of design the interior of Trusteeship Council Chamber at the UN headquarters in New York. The result of this project was heavily praised and generated awareness of a Danish Modern furniture style. (Biographical information from Danish-Furniture.com and r20thcentury.com)