Jens Risom Bookcase
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Jens Risom Bookcase
About the Item
- Creator:Jens Risom (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 32 in (81.28 cm)Width: 36 in (91.44 cm)Depth: 13 in (33.02 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Brooklyn, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU954115114201
Jens Risom
The Danish-born Jens Risom brought the Scandinavian modern design sensibility to a wide audience in the United States. As the first designer for Knoll Inc., Risom introduced American buyers to the region’s enduring design values of simplicity, grace and craftsmanship.
Risom trained in furniture making at the Copenhagen School of Industrial Arts and Design under Ole Wanscher, alongside classmates Hans Wegner and Børge Mogensen. In 1939, a year after graduating from business school, Risom decided to move to the U.S.
While working for an interior designer in New York in 1941, he met Hans Knoll, and the businessman and the designer hit it off. They brought out their first line the next year, despite wartime materials restrictions. The signature piece — now a design icon — was a lounge chair with a striking, undulant birch frame and a seat made of webbed sub-military grade parachute straps. Risom was drafted into the army, and served as a translator under General George Patton. When he returned from the war, Risom clashed over furniture design ideals with his business partner’s new bride, Florence Knoll, the pioneering mid-century modernist who was schooled in the Bauhaus method, which favored furniture with strict, geometric metal frames. Risom then started his own company, Jens Risom Design.
In the course of his long career, Risom developed a stylistic vocabulary that was a reflection of the life of the man himself: his furniture has Danish warmth coupled with an American air of crisp efficiency. Vintage Risom chairs are almost instantly recognizable — the arms and seat backs are set at a distinctive angle that seems to invite people to sit back and relax, yet they know they can hop up in an instant, ready to go.
As you will see on these pages, Jens Risom is one of the great men of American modern design who made furniture that is unique and timeless.
Find a collection of vintage Jens Risom furniture on 1stDibs that includes lounge chairs, desks, coffee tables and more.
- Jens Risom Walnut Magazine TableBy Jens RisomLocated in Brooklyn, NYOriginal model T.539 walnut side table, designed by Jens Risom in 1949. Fantastic angular profile is sleek and modern. Wedge-shaped top exhibits beautiful walnut wood grain. Function...Category
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- Jens Risom Maple Magazine TableBy Jens RisomLocated in Brooklyn, NYOriginal model T.539 side table with magazine rack, designed by Jens Risom in 1949. Fantastic angular profile is sleek and modern, echoed in the wedge-shaped top. Functionality added...Category
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$2,030 Sale Price30% Off - Jens Risom Walnut CredenzaBy Jens RisomLocated in Kalamazoo, MIFunctional and understated walnut credenza designed by Jens Risom for his own company, Jens Risom Design in the 1950s. This pieces features five drawers, two of which are hanging fil...Category
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- Mid-Century Walnut Desk by Jens Risom for Jens Risom Design, 1960sBy Jens RisomLocated in GNIEZNO, 30A large desk made of walnut wood from the 1960s, designed by Jens Risom for the American manufactory Jens Risom Design. Desk with two drawer modules. There are two drawers in the lef...Category
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