Finn Juhl

Finn Juhl(1912-1989) trained at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts’ School of Architecture from 1930-35. Although he was educated as architect, Juhl is better known for his work as a furniture designer. Upon his graduation, architect Vilhelm Lauritzen hired Juhl to work in his sudio from 1934-45. In 1945, Juhl established his own design studio in Copenhagen.

Juhl was one of the most active members of the Danish Modern movement that spurred an explosion of creativity in the immediate post-war years. Juhl did not approve of the “Klintian” mathematical, geometric, and retrospective approach to furniture design. On the contrary, Juhl stood out through his divergent approach.

In contrast to Kaare Klint and Hans Wegner, Finn Juhl was outspoken, metropolitan, and rather self-conscious; he believed that furniture should have a starting point from comtemporary art, citing the organic lines in the work of figures such as Henry Moore, Jean Arp, and Pablo Picasso.

From the 1940s onward, he was highly focused on the difference between “the carrying” and “the carried” elements of his furniture, a concept that is most evident in his FJ45 armchair from 1945. Juhl often pushed the limits of Danish Modern and its cabinetmaker functionalism.

Juhl’s organic furniture became known as a strong contribution to the promotion of Danish design abroad and during Juhl’s career he was involved in and carried out major, full interior decoration projects such as The Trusteeship Council Chamber in New York, 1952.

Finn Juhl

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