Finn Juhl for Bovirke 'Reading Chairs' in Teak

About the Item

Finn Juhl for Bovirke, 'reading' dining chairs, oak, teak, metal, Denmark, 1953. In 1953, Finn Juhl designed this 'Reading Chair' for Bovirke. The chair is organically shaped featuring curvaceous forms and round finishes. The backrest is in great harmony with the seat as both elements are based on a concave shape. The sleek legs contribute to the chair's minimalist and light-weight appearance. Besides its aesthetic appeal, functionality also plays a key role in this design as it allows you to take two seating positions. The backrest is equipped with an additional slat that can be used as a rest for your arms while sitting backwards. A well thought-out design that ensures great comfort when sitting both forwards or backwards. Finn Juhl used natural, honest materials such as oak for the legs and teak for the overall parts. Finn Juhl (1912-1989), born in Denmark, planned on becoming an art historian when he was young. His father decided it would be a better career move if he went to become an architect. After graduating in architecture, Juhl worked for ten years with Vilhelm Lauritzen. At the age of 33, Juhl opened his own furniture design practice. In the 1940s he designed a number of creations that regenerated Danish furniture design and broke with the established furniture tradition. Juhl is now known as the one of the most important pioneers of Danish design. He was in fact the first Danish furniture designer to gain widespread international recognition. His work was vital to spreading the “Danish Modern” concept around the world. His designs are known for being exquisitely elegant, refined up until the smallest detail and extremely well executed. Please note that the listed price, is the price per item.

Creator:

Bovirke (Manufacturer),Finn Juhl (Designer)

Dimensions:

Height: 28.94 in (73.5 cm)Width: 20.28 in (51.5 cm)Depth: 22.84 in (58 cm)Seat Height: 16.54 in (42 cm)

Style:

Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)

Materials and Techniques:

Metal,Oak,Teak

Place of Origin:

Denmark

Period:

1950-1959

Date of Manufacture:

1953

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use. Every item Morentz offers is checked by our team of 30 craftspeople in our in-house workshop. Special restoration or reupholstery requests can be done. Check ‘About the item’ or ask our design specialists for detailed information on the condition.

Seller Location:

Waalwijk, NL

Reference Number:

Seller: 450148291stDibs: LU933130195852

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Shop All Finn Juhl

Finn Juhl

Along with Hans Wegner, Arne Jacobsen and Børge Mogensen, Finn Juhl was one of the great masters of mid-20th-century Danish design. Juhl was the first among that group to have his work promoted overseas, bringing the character of the nation’s furnishings — and the inherent principles of grace, craftsmanship and utility on which they were based — to an international audience. A stylistic maverick, Juhl embraced expressive, free-flowing shapes in chair and sofa designs much earlier than his colleagues, yet even his quietest pieces incorporate supple, curving forms that are at once elegant and ergonomic.

As a young man, Juhl hoped to become an art historian, but his father steered him into a more practical course of study in architecture. He began designing furniture in the late 1930s, a discipline in which, despite his education, Juhl was self-taught, and quite proud of the fact. His earliest works, designed in the late 1930s, are perhaps his most idiosyncratic. The influence of contemporary art is clear in Juhl's 1939 Pelican chair: an almost Surrealist take on the classic wing chair. Critics reviled the piece, however; one said it looked like a "tired walrus." Juhl had tempered his creativity by 1945, when the Danish furniture-making firm Niels Vodder began to issue his designs. Yet his now-classic NV 45 armchair still demonstrates panache, with a seat that floats above the chair’s teak frame.

Juhl first exhibited his work in the United States in 1950, championed by Edgar Kaufmann Jr., an influential design critic and scion of America’s most prominent family of modern architecture and design patrons. (Kaufmann’s father commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright’s design of the house “Fallingwater.”) Juhl quickly won a following for such signature designs as the supremely comfortable Chieftan lounge chair, the biomorphic Baker sofa, and the Judas table, a piece ornamented with stylish inlaid silver plaquettes.

As you will see from the offerings on 1stDibs, Finn Juhl’s furniture — as well as his lighting, ceramics, tableware and accessories — has an air of relaxed sophistication and elegance that is unique in the realm of mid-20th-century design.