Designed in 1962, the CH36 (without armrests) and CH37 (with armrests) chairs, with their simple and functional design enriched by careful details, bear witness to the influence of the principles of American Shaker furniture and craftsmanship on the work of Hans Wegner.
The legs taper slightly towards the ground and, in the case of the back legs, also upwards, creating an elegant appearance. The backrest is significantly more curved at the top than at the bottom to optimise back support. The overall expression is completed by the frame and seat made of durable hand-woven paper rope.Â
The CH36 and CH37 chairs are the epitome of Danish design, simple and precise, light and strong enough to comfortably accommodate several generations.Â
CH36 52 x 48 x H81 cm  CH37 58 x 50 x H81 cm Seat height 45 cm
Frame solid wood Backrest plywood Seat paper cord
CH36 – Soaped beech + Natural paper cord
CH36 – Oiled beech + Natural paper cord
CH36 – Oiled oak + Natural paper cord
CH36 – Oiled oak + Natural paper cord
CH36 – White oiled oak + Natural paper cord
CH36 – Black lacquered oak + Natural paper cord
CH36 – Black lacquered oak + Black paper cord
customize your CH36 & CH37 chairs
CH36 Chair
from
CH37 Chair
from
colours
Cushions
CH36 – Loke 7050 leather
CH37 – Loke 7050 leather
CH36 – Loke 7170 leather
CH37 – Loke 7170 leather
CH36 – Loke 7270 leather
CH37 – Loke 7270 leather
CH36 – Loke 7150 leather
CH37 – Loke 7150 leather
CH36 – Loke 7748 leather
CH37 – Loke 7748 leather
CH36 – Loke 7100 leather
CH37 – Loke 7100 leather
CH36 – Loke 7160 leather
CH37 – Loke 7160 leather
Hans J. Wegner
Hans J. Wegner was born in 1914 in Tønder, Denmark, the son of a shoemaker. At the age of 17, he finished his apprenticeship as a cabinetmaker with H. F. Stahlberg, in whose workshops Wegner’s first design experiments took form. He moved to Copenhagen as a 20 year-old, and attended the School of Arts and Crafts from 1936 – 1938 before he began working as an architect.
As a young architect, Wegner joined Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller in Århus, working on furniture design for the new Århus city hall in 1940. It was during the same year that Wegner began collaborating with master cabinetmaker, Johannes Hansen, who was a driving force in bringing new furniture design to the Danish public.
The Copenhagen Museum of Art and Industry acquired its first Wegner chair in 1942.
Wegner started his own design office in 1943. It was in 1944 that he designed the first “Chinese chair” in a series of new chairs that were inspired by portraits of Danish merchants sitting in Ming chairs. One of these chairs, the “Wishbone Chair”, designed in 1949 and produced by Carl Hansen & Son in Odense since 1950, became the most successful of all Wegner chairs.
Among Danish furniture designers, Hans J. Wegner is considered one of the most creative and productive. He has received practically every major recognition given to designers, including the Lunning prize, the grand prix of the Milan Triennale, Sweden’s Prince Eugen medal and the Danish Eckersberg medal. Wegner is an honorary Royal designer for industry of the Royal Society of Arts in London. Almost all of the world’s major design museums – from The Museum of Modern Art in New York to Die Neue Sammlung in Munich – include his furniture in their collections.
Hans J. Wegner died in Denmark in January, 2007.
A few major characteristics about Hans J. Wegner:
- First a cabinetmaker, then a designer: he integrates exacting joinery techniques and exquisite forms.
- A deep respect for wood and its characteristics – and an abiding curiosity about other natural materials.
- Brings an organic, natural softness to formalistic minimalism.
- Generally regarded as ”the master of the chair”, with more than 400 chair designs to his name.
