10
FROM DENMARK TO LONDON
Three years ago we made the decision to open a space in
the Pimlico design district that would combine our design
practice with enough space to show the pieces that we felt
represented the best of contemporary design. A place to
curate and create, with stories and the history of designers
and their work at the heart of what we do. When I found
out that Finn Juhl’s pieces were being remade in Denmark by
OneCollection I realised that I had an opportunity with our
Design Store to help tell this fascinating story. The London
Design Festival was a perfect piece of timing – and the idea
of an exhibition began to take shape.
Finn Juhl wanted from a young age to be an art historian but
was pushed into architecture by his father. His work moved
Clockwise: Chieftain chair designed in 1949 available in teak and walnut;
sinuous lines of the Baker sofa; Baker sofa upholstered in contrast wool
fabric; precise and exquisite carved details of the Chieftan chair
between furniture, interior, product and industrial design,
its impact felt way beyond his native Denmark from the 50s
onwards. The Chieftain chair designed in 1949 is a sculptural
translation of this dialogue between history, art and furniture
design. When Juhl originally exhibited the chair he showed it
with photographs of weapons from anthropological studies.
At the same time as using new methods of production
together with the values of artisan craftsmanship Juhl
conflates contemporary modes of living with something
more enduring – older answers to the questions of living.
The Chieftain chair is one of my all-time favourite pieces
of furniture and I think it is the ability to move between
continents and eras that makes it a design classic for me.