Hans J Wegner's centenary is feted with a duet of Denmark shows and new launches at the Salone del Mobile
![The Sønderjyllands Kunstmuseum in Tønder,](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XSYzzAVgPyu7S8seCMsbNJ-415-80.jpg)
Given his status as design national hero, it's no surprise that the Danes are celebrating the hundredth anniversary of Hans J Wegner's birth on multiple fronts. The Sønderjyllands Kunstmuseum in Tønder, Wegner's hometown, is honouring its favourite son with a new show that explores his childhood and training as a furniture maker at the local workshop of Herman Stahlberg.
Housed in an old water tower, the art museum is home to the only permanent Wegner exhibition in the country: a collection of what the designer called 'my 37 best chairs'. The new exhibition, 'Hans J Wegner: A Nordic Design Icon from Tønder', opens tomorrow on what would have been his 100th birthday and will include 150 pieces spanning not only furniture and lamps, but also art works and tools.
The museum has also invited five contemporary Nordic designers - David Ericsson from Sweden, Caroline Olsson from Norway, Harri Koskinen from Finland, Dögg Gudmundsdottir from Iceland and Søren Ulrik Petersen from Denmark - to create new pieces that draw creative inspiration from the Wegnerian legacy. A sizeable 380-page tome in Danish will be published by the museum to accompany the show, with an English version slated to be release in summer.
Already open at the Designmuseum Danmark in Copenhagen is 'Wegner: Just One Good Chair'. This survey uses 150 original pieces, 50 new versions of his designs, as well as drawings, photos and models, to show how Wegner's 'organic modernism' was rooted in traditional Danish craftsmanship and woodworking, and how he 'rationalised' those traditions for the industrial age.
It also places Wegner's work in the context of work by his contemporaries such as Charles and Ray Eames, Finn Juhl, Arne Jacobsen and Mies van der Rohe and looks at how he has influenced contemporary designers such as Jasper Morrison, Naoto Fukasawa, Tadeo Ando and Konstantin Grcic. Similarly, the Designmuseum has also produced its own book: a reprint of Christian Holmsted Olesens' tome (from which the exhibition takes it name), with new material and photographs.
Wegner's centenary is also being marked next week during the Salone del Mobile in Milan. Furniture manufacturer PP Møbler, who worked closely with the designer during his life, is showing all of the pieces it produced in collaboration with him as well as launching the 'Tub Chair', a Wegner design that has never been put into production before. (For more on the new launch turn to our May issue, out on 10 April).
Paul Smith, a dedicated fan of Danish design, is showing his own Wegner tribute in Milan, re-upholstering a range of Wegner-designed chairs from Carl Hansen & Søn. The fashion designer's trademark stripes textiles have been produced in collaboration with Maharam. Carl Hansen & Søn, meanwhile, has re-adopted a Wegner-devised logo it dropped in the 1980s and put his 'CH88' chair into production, another of Wegner's endless chair designs - he came up with 500 during his lifetime - that didn't make it past the prototype stage.
Wegner as a PhD student at the Danish School of Arts and Crafts, circa 1937
The exhibition, 'Hans J Wegner: A Nordic Design Icon from Tønder', opens tomorrow on what would have been the designer's 100th birthday and will include 150 pieces spanning not only furniture and lamps, but also art works and tools
The Tønder art museum, housed in an old water tower, is home to the only permanent Wegner exhibition in the country: a collection of what the designer called 'my 37 best chairs'. The chairs, which were chosen by Wegner himself whilst he was still alive, form a departure point for the exhibition
Wegner's designs are being shown alongside paintings from the museum's collection, which has a special focus on Nordic art and design from the 20th century
'Peacock' chair (left) and 'PP501' chair.
The museum has also invited five contemporary Nordic designers - David Ericsson from Sweden, Caroline Olsson from Norway, Harri Koskinen from Finland, Dögg Gudmundsdottir from Iceland and Søren Ulrik Petersen from Denmark - to create new pieces that draw creative inspiration from the Wegnerian legacy
In Copenhagen, meanwhile, the Designmuseum Danmark is staging its own tribute to the designer, with a survey entitled 'Wegner: Just One Good Chair'
This survey uses 150 original pieces, 50 new versions of his designs, as well as drawings, photos and models, to show how Wegner's 'organic modernism' was rooted in traditional Danish craftsmanship and woodworking.
'PP 225 Flag Halyard' chair, 1950.
The Copenhagen show places Wegner's work in the context of work by his contemporaries such as Charles and Ray Eames, Arne Jacobsen and Mies van der Rohe and looks at how he has influenced contemporary designers. Wegner is pictured here with Charles Eames in New York, 1959
The exhibition offers a glimpse into the designer's personal life, including his private home
Wegner came up with 500 chairs during his lifetime.
Also on show is one of Wegner's rarer pieces, his 'Knibtangstol' chair (right).
Wegner's centenary will also be marked next week during the Salone del Mobile in Milan. Furniture manufacturer PP Møbler, who worked closely with the designer during his life, is launching the 'Tub Chair' (left), a design that has never been put into production before. It will also show all of the pieces it produced in collaboration with him, including the iconic 'PP 501' chair
'Peacock 521' chair, by Hans J Wegner, for PP Møbler
Paul Smith, a dedicated fan of Danish design, is also showing his own Wegner tribute in Milan, re-upholstering a range of Wegner-designed chairs from Carl Hansen & Søn
The fashion designer's trademark striped textiles have been produced in collaboration with Maharam
Among the Wegner designs receiving a Paul Smith transformation is his 1950 'Wishbone Chair', the three-legged 'Shell Chair', the minimalist 'CH28', the 'CH163' sofa and contemporary classic, the 'Wing Chair'
The collection comes upholstered in two worsted wool textiles, which explore stripes at dramatically different scales
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
-
Phaidon’s new Graphic Classics is a lavish greatest hits of graphic design
Graphic Classics is a compendium of seven centuries of visual culture, from the everyday and ephemeral to visionary works that reshaped our world
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Birley Chocolate hits the sweet ’n’ chic spot in London’s Chelsea
The new Birley Chocolate shop, a sibling to Birley Bakery, is a confection of colour as delicious as its finely crafted goods
By Melina Keays Published
-
Feel at home at Auberge, Château La Coste's new inn for culture lovers
Auberge La Coste sits at the heart of the art-filled estate, minutes away from the joyful town of Aix-en-Provence
By Harriet Thorpe Published
-
Faye Toogood brings new life to Matisse’s legacy
Milan Design Week 2023: tapped by Maison Matisse, the London-based designer has taken inspiration from the French master’s forms to create a collection of heirloom-worthy objects
By Sam Rogers Published
-
Prada Frames 2023: Milan programme announced
Programme announced for Prada Frames 2023 at Milan Design Week, the annual symposium curated by Formafantasma at Luigi Caccia Dominioni's Teatro Filodrammatici from 17 to 19 April
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated
-
Alessi Occasional Objects: Virgil Abloh’s take on cutlery
Best Cross Pollination: Alessi's cutlery by the late designer Virgil Abloh, in collaboration with his London studio Alaska Alaska, is awarded at the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2023
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
Salone del Mobile 2023: highlights from Milan Design Week
In pictures: our highlights from Milan Design Week, held during the 61st Salone del Mobile 2023 (18-23 April)
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated
-
USM launches blushing pink limited edition of its modular furniture
Following an installation during Milan Design Week 2022, USM launches a new pink limited edition of its Haller range
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated
-
‘You don't want space; you want to fill it’: Milan exhibition
Making its debut during Milan Design Week 2022 at Marsèll Paradise, a new exhibition by Matylda Krzykowski, explores how we approach the space we live in (until 15 July 2022)
By Cristina Kiran Piotti Last updated
-
Men’s mental health takes centre stage at an art and design exhibition by Tableau
‘Confessions’, which travels to Copenhagen’s 3 Days of Design following its debut at Milan Design Week 2022, features commissioned work by 14 male artists, designers and architects, reflecting on toxic masculinity, vulnerability and mental health
By TF Chan Last updated
-
Salone del Mobile 2022: highlights from Milan Design Week
In pictures: our highlights from Milan Design Week 2022, held during the 60th edition of Salone del Mobile (7 – 12 June 2022)
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated