International attention is turning on Danish designer Finn Juhl with new exhibitions and events to celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth.
Juhl, whose furniture — most famously, his chairs — helped change the course of design history in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. He is being celebrated with a number of major events in Japan, America and Europe.
In Japan, an exhibition called “The Universe of Finn Juhl” will open on February 28, 2012 at the Ozone Tower Gallery 1 in Shinjuku, Tokyo. It will display a broad selection of Juhl’s designs including such icons as the Pelican Chair and the Poet Sofa. In addition to these well-known classics, the Danish furniture manufacturer Onecollection will present more than 20 different designs by Juhl from the 40s and 50s. Many of them have not been in production for decades but now seem more contemporary than ever before. The exhibition is curated by the Danish designer Søren Ulrik Petersen.
The exhibition will also showcase new furniture designs by award-winning designer Kasper Salto and architect Thomas Sigsgaard for the Trusteeship Council Chamber at the UN headquarters in New York, which was originally designed by Juhl. The two designers will both be present at the opening and give a lecture on the challenges of the project.
In Gifu in Japan, the Finn Juhl Art Museum Club has built a copy of Juhl’s original Danish home in Ordrup, Denmark. His private home is today operated as part of the Ordrupgaard Art Museum, whose grounds it adjoins. The Japanese replica was opened on January 30 – the 100th anniversary of Juhl’s birth.
The most prominent, international example of Juhl’s work – and his legacy in contemporary design – is the Trusteeship Council Chamber in the UN Headquarters in New York. Juhl designed the Council Chamber as a comprehensive whole in the 1950s – everything from the colourful ceilings to the wall panels and furniture. During 2012, the Chamber will undergo a full restoration and refurbishment to be completed in January 2013.
In part to ensure that the restoration is carried out in the spirit of Finn Juhl, the Danish Agency for Culture and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has commissioned Salto and Sigsgaard to provide new furniture for the chamber. The task for the designers is to design a secretariat chair, a secretariat table, and a so-called delegate table that will be both innovative and a natural part of Juhl’s original design.
Throughout 2012, the centennial will be celebrated with a number of events, highlighting both the restoration project along with contemporary and future Danish furniture design.
In Denmark, the Ordrupgaard Art Museum, north of Copenhagen, celebrated Juhl’s birthday with music, activities for children and guided tours at his home which is open to the public all year round. In Stockholm, the Danish Embassy and Onecollection have worked together to produce an exhibition on Juhl’s life and his furniture in the windows of the embassy at Jakobs Torg.
