Finn Juhl
1912-1989 (Denmark)
Finn Juhl was the first Danish furniture designer to receive international recognition. He studied architecture with a Danish architect, Vilhelm Lauritzen and graduated from the Royal Academy in Copenhagen. As a furniture designer he was self-taught, something that he always emphasized. Juhl designed his first piece of furniture in the late 1930s. Mainly pieces for himself but after setting up his own office in 1945 he soon became known for creating unusual, expressive and sculptural pieces of furniture. He had a collaboration with master cabinet maker Niels Vodder and managed to cause a stir with designs obviously inspired by modern, abstract art. Compared to his contemporaries, Juhl put more energy into the form and less on function, which presented a break in traditional design.
"One cannot create happiness with beautiful objects, but one can spoil quite a lot of happiness with bad ones."
Finn Juhl was the first Danish furniture designer to receive international recognition. He studied architecture with a Danish architect, Vilhelm Lauritzen and graduated from the Royal Academy in Copenhagen. As a furniture designer he was self-taught, something that he always emphasized. Juhl designed his first piece of furniture in the late 1930s. Mainly pieces for himself but after setting up his own office in 1945 he soon became known for creating unusual, expressive and sculptural pieces of furniture. He had a collaboration with master cabinet maker Niels Vodder and managed to cause a stir with designs obviously inspired by modern, abstract art. Compared to his contemporaries, Juhl put more energy into the form and less on function, which presented a break in traditional design.
"One cannot create happiness with beautiful objects, but one can spoil quite a lot of happiness with bad ones."