Danish modern

[citation needed] Between the two world wars, Kaare Klint exerted a strong influence on Danish furniture making.

Appointed head of the Furniture Department at the Architecture School of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, he encouraged his students to take an analytical approach, adapting design to modern-day needs.

Adopting the Functionalist trend of abandoning ornamentation in favour of form, he nonetheless maintained the warmth and beauty inherent in traditional Danish cabinet making, as well as high-quality craftsmanship and materials.

Cabinetmaker A. J. Iversen, who had successfully exhibited furniture from designs by architect Kay Gottlob at the International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts in 1925 in Paris, was instrumental in fostering further partnerships.

In 1927, with a view to encouraging innovation and stimulating public interest, the Danish Cabinetmakers Guild organized a furniture exhibition in Copenhagen which was to be held every year until 1967.

In the late 1940s, the growing middle class in Denmark began to show interest in Danish Modern and helped fuel further investment into the style.

[10] From the beginning of the 1950s, American manufacturers obtained licenses for the mass production of Danish designs while maintaining high standards of craftsmanship.

This was aided in part by Denmark's decision to copy the British 30% devaluation in September 1949, which brought down the price of Danish goods drastically for American consumers.

[14] Sales peaked around 1963, but when American manufacturers introduced molded plastic and wood-grained Formica as cheaper substitutes, they started to decline in favor of Mediterranean designs which became popular in 1966.

[16] A 1980 New York Times article observed that Danish modern "went out of style" in the United States, due in part to counterculture, "which would have none of the earnest establishment image of Scandinavian design", and the "new culture, for which only the shocking is chic".

[19] While the mass-produced works of Wegner, Juhl and Jacobsen are still in demand, collectors are increasingly turning to limited production items from these and the other designers.

Normann Copenhagen, HAY, Muuto, Kähler are among new firms that carry Danish modern design principles forward.

His carefully researched designs are based on functionality, proportions in line with the human body, craftsmanship and the use of high quality materials.

[25] Poul Henningsen, an architect, with a strong belief in the functionalist way of thinking, was an important participant in the Danish Modern school, not for furniture but for lighting design.

His later designs in wood still form part of classical Danish Modern, especially his three-legged stool[28] and folding Egyptian coffee table (1940) originally produced by A. J.

In the late 1930s, he created furniture for himself but from 1945 he became recognized for his expressively sculptural designs, going beyond the Klint school to emphasize integrating form with function.

Taking an almost scientific approach to an item's functionality, most of his furniture is characterized by strong, simple lines and was designed for industrial production.

[34] Best known as ‘the Master of the Chairs,' Wegner created fascinating furniture with clean, organic and aesthetic lines, balanced by a minimalist and composed aspect.

Inspired by Alvar Aalto's laminated bent-plywood furniture and Charles Eames' moulded plywood designs, she began to develop her own boldly curved models in the 1950s.

With the help of furniture manufacturer Poul Jeppesen, she went on to design simpler models with clear, comfortable lines, which became popular both in Denmark and the United States thanks to their competitive prices.

[39] Sometimes referred to as a pop artist, unlike the majority of his colleagues, he continued to be successful in the 1970s, not only with furniture but with interior designs including lighting.

[40][41] In addition to an academic career at the School of Arts and Crafts and at the Institute of Design at the Royal Academy, Kjærholm always took full account of the importance of place a piece of furniture had in surrounding architectural space.

A true minimalist, Risom worked mainly in wood because it was cheap, and one of his most successful pieces, Knoll Chair #654 (which is still being manufactured)[43] was made with a seat of nylon webbing that had been discarded by the army.