NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Once again, iconic Danish designer Finn Juhl has proved that the most modern furniture is not necessarily a recent design. Just as we keep discovering new treasures from Juhl's historic archive that feel fresh and new today, he himself perceived ancient Egyptian chairs to be his "freshest" inspiration.
Finn Juhl is part of design history as the father of Danish Modern and held a strong connection to the US throughout his career. In 1950, at the young age of 38, he was chosen to design the Trusteeship Council Chamber in the new UN Building. He created a so-called Gesamtkunstwerk – an all-embracing art form where every design element complements each other to create a functional and aesthetic unity.
Onecollection has held the rights to produce Finn Juhl’s organic mid-century designs since 1999.
The Pelican Table
Coffee Table in walnut or teak. 1940.
A prototype of the Pelican Table was shown at the annual Copenhagen Cabinetmakers Guild Exhibition in 1940. It was presented together with the now iconic Pelican Chair. Both the Pelican Chair and the Pelican Table are evident results of Juhl's affinity with sculpture – particularly with surrealism and cubism. He carefully selected artwork, which he knew would be in dialogue with his furniture at the exhibition.
"We are very excited to present a unique new piece of furniture that hasn't been manufactured for almost 75 years. The Pelican Table is extremely rare and yet a great example of Finn Juhl's ability to merge practical furniture design with sculpture," says director Hans Henrik Sørensen, Onecollection.
The Silver Table
Oval dining or conference table in walnut or a combination of teak and oak with silver plaquettes. 1948.
The Silver Table was originally designed by Juhl for his own private home, but was later manufactured by cabinetmaker Niels Vodder for the public during the late 1950s.
For many years, The Silver Table was called the Judas Table due to the association between the number of disciples at the Last Supper and the table's iconic silver inlays.
"Today, however, we prefer to call it The Silver Table, because the 30 silver plaquettes on the table top are such a unique and typical Finn Juhl design feature in its attention to aesthetics, innovation and craftsmanship," explains director Hans Henrik Sørensen, Onecollection.
The Egyptian Chair
Dining Chair in walnut or teak. 1949.
Design historians have described Juhl's Egyptian Chair as a miraculous mix of ancient Egyptian design principles combined with influences from modern rhythm, aerodynamics and fast cars.
The Chair first made its debut together with the famous Chieftain Chair at the annual Copenhagen Cabinetmakers Guild Exhibition in 1949. Both chairs demonstrated Juhl's unique genius and prompted an international interest for Danish design, which later acknowledged Finn Juhl as the Father of the Danish Modern style of design.
Many years later, Finn Juhl himself spoke about finding his source of inspiration for the chair in Paris:
"At the Louvre, I came face to face with a well preserved example of an Egyptian chair for the first time. I was fascinated by its profile with the characteristic triangle between the vertical legs, the tilted backrest and the horizontal rail between the front and the back legs. It is a steady and simple construction, which I have used in the dining chair called the Egyptian Chair. I must be honest and admit that I have stolen the construction, just like I have stolen the right angle and the circle. I also freely admit that there is no other style of furniture design from the past that I admire as much as the elegant and simple designs of these ancient Egyptian chairs. To me, they feel completely modern and fresh". (Finn Juhl, Politiken 1976)
Pelican Table, 1940
This extremely rare Coffee Table was only manufactured a couple of times in 1940. Now, almost 75 years later, Onecollection is re-introducing this fine example of Finn Juhl's ability to merge practical furniture design with sculpture.
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Silver Table, 1948
The Silver Table, also called the Judas Table, was originally designed for Juhl's private home. The 30 silver plaquettes on the table's top are a unique and typical Finn Juhl design feature in its attention to aesthetics, innovation and craftsmanship.
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Council Chair Lounge, 2014
This new chair is a lower and slightly tilted version of the original Council Chair, which was designed for the restored Trusteeship Council Chamber at the UN Headquarters in New York in 2011 by Kasper Salto and Thomas Sigsgaard. The chair offers great comfort and is ideal for lounge or lower seated conferences.
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TIME new version, 2014
This new version of Henrik Tengler's 2013 conference chair TIME has a five star base on castors with built-in swivel, adjustable height and a tilting function.
The chair comes in a chrome-plated steel frame with leather or fabric upholstery.
Press materials: http://files.onecollection.com/index.php
