Teenager, Finn Juhl (1912-1989) wanted to become an art historian, having a passion for the fine arts since childhood. His father stopped him and Finn Juhl started architectural studies. Later, when his fame as a designer of furniture acquired, he speaks of himself as an autodidact, in reference to this upset vocation that forced him to walk intellectually on a lonely way. His style owes much to this singular trajectory, with its non academic interpretation of art visible in his work. Finn Juhl started his studies in 1930, a key period which saw the birth of modern design and furniture.
His modern offices in central Copenhagen was greeting his visitors with a huge Japanese fish in paper, symbol of imagination. And rather than addressing the design of a furniture from an functional angle, in the classical manner, Finn Juhl approached his work in the manner of a sculptor, seeking the beauty of the volume and shape, life and expressiveness, an approach that, in the 1940s and 1950s, was then completely new. For Finn Juhl, it was clear that furniture could not be limited to function, but should also express an artistic sensibility.
Originally Finn Juhl designed this sofa for Baker Furniture Inc. in USA in 1951. The sculptural forms are inspired by the modern free art, which interested Finn Juhl very much. The sofa has an upholstered body divided in two, resting upon an elegant and light construction of wood – a typical example of how Finn Juhl separated the elements in order to create a visual lightness. The sofa is upholstered in wool fabric, of customer’s choice.
Dimensions L195 x D80 x H98 cm – seat height 44cm
Upholstery fabric or leather
Legs oak or walnut