The iconic Chieftain Chair is one of Finn Juhl's absolute masterpieces, representing the peak of his career as a furniture designer. At its introduction in 1949, the chair marked a renewal of the Danish furniture design tradition. Today, it is perceived as one of the most important exponents of the Danish Modern movement in the US during the 1950s. For this reason, Finn Juhl is often considered the father of Danish Modern.
Inspired by modern art, the Chieftain Chair with its organic shapes, liberated itself from traditional Danish furniture design and strict functionalism in both shape, construction and materials.
In 2012, the Chieftain Chair won the Danish Design Award, Classic. The jury said in its motivation: "Today, the Chieftain Chair stands as an inspiration to a new generation of furniture designers and as proof that attention to quality, international calibre and a will to break away from tradition can pave the way to make a difference as a designer".
Finn Juhl
The work of architect Finn Juhl (1912—1989) energized traditional Danish design. It exemplifies the quality of craftsmanship and beauty that made the nation a leader in modern home furnishing during the 1940s and 1950s.
Juhl was trained as an all-round building architect, not—as he emphasized—especially as a furniture designer. On several occasions, he pointed out that as a furniture designer, he was purely self-taught.
His early chairs were produced in small batches, eighty at most, because they were created for Guild shows where the work of the artisan was emphasized over the burgeoning industry of mass production. However, they were almost all reissued later in his career.
In 1951 he designed the Trusteeship Council Chamber in the United Nations Headquarters in New York as a gift from Denmark to the UN.
A stability of construction harmonized with a unique expression of form distinguishes his works. His fondness for teak as a material led him to develop new and superior techniques for its use, and he is responsible for the present popularity of teak in Danish furniture.
Finn Juhl had a great influence on the following generation of Scandinavian architects with his use of bold sculptural forms and ultra-refined detailing. Juhl once said: "One cannot create happiness with beautiful objects, but one can ruin quite a lot of happiness with bad ones."
House of Finn Juhl of Denmark
Finn Juhl designed furniture with the human body in mind. This characteristic made him stand out from his midcentury peers in Denmark and Scandinavia alike. Rather than limiting himself to thinking in terms of practical construction, Finn Juhl adopted the mindset of a sculptor when shaping furniture. With this approach he created iconic pieces such as the Pelican Chair, the Poet Sofa, the Chieftain Chair and the 45 Chair, which have become darlings of the Danish Modern movement today. When relaunching iconic Finn Juhl pieces, we have to assume his mindset ourselves and strive to understand his design philosophy. It is all about feeling. One cannot make his furniture simply by adhering to a technical and commercial approach. You have to be extremely critical and uncompromising in what you do, because when it comes to Finn Juhl—there is no bottom line.
By the time of his passing in 1989, Finn Juhl had become an award winning and highly appreciated furniture designer on the international design stage. To this day, Finn Juhl's sculptural pieces of furniture are celebrated worldwide and he is credited as one of the founding fathers of the Danish Modern movement in America.
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