Customizable Montis Axel Sofa by GIJS PAPAVOINE

Modern Dutch design owes a great deal to Gerard van den Berg. While the Netherlands has a rich furniture-making tradition, it took a maverick like Van den Berg to bring it into a new era. 

Van den Berg was born in 1947 to a family of designers. His father owned a furniture company in Hellevoetsluis where Van den Berg worked as an apprentice and then designer until he and his brother, Ton, founded their own workshop, in 1974. That company, named Montis, produced mostly upholstered seating for homes and businesses.

At Montis, Van den Berg challenged traditional Dutch furniture forms. Rather than starting with the piece's frame, which he felt was restrictive, he focused on the silhouette. This inspired Van den Berg to create slim and elegant furniture, often featuring angular metal legs and leather upholstery. In 1983, he pioneered the "jacket technique," consisting of a zipped leather cover around a metal frame. Several iconic Montis seats use this technique, including the Chaplin chair, the Butterfly lounge chair and the Rocky sofa.

In 1989, Van den Berg launched his own design studio and began designing for companies like Wittmann, Molteni and Perobell. He left Montis in 1990 to cofound a new company, called Label, with Ton the following year. Today, Van den Berg's son Jasper and Ton's daughter, Marieke, manage Label. Van den Berg's other son, Ivo, is also a designer at the company.

Van den Berg's irreplaceable contributions to furniture design have garnered multiple awards over the years. Some of the most notable include the Kho Liang Prize, the Mobilia Innovation Award and the Prize for Interior Architecture. 

Find vintage Montis seating on 1stDibs.