Jens Risom.

Jens Risom

Spread the love
Jens Risom.
Jens Risom. (1916-2016)




Jens Risom passed away last year at the age of 100. During his lifetime he was a major influence in spreading Scandinavian modern design in America. Although if one has only a cursory knowledge of modern design, and even if one has no idea about the designer of a certain chair, one immediately recognizes it because of its iconic nature.

 

Lounge Chair, Model 654W, 1941.
Lounge Chair, Model 654W, 1941.

 

Lounge Chair, Model 654W, 1941.
Lounge Chair, Model 654W, 1941.

 

Besides being known for the chair seen above, Risom obviously designed much more than this. His experience was considerable. He was educated among the likes of Hans Wegner and Borge Mogensen and was introduced to Alvar Aalto and Bruno Mathsson.

After coming to the United States, he teamed up with Hans Knoll to start the Hans Knoll Furniture Company utilizing many of Risom’s designs which later became classics.

According to Wikipedia, Risom was drafted into the military during WWII and only stayed briefly with Knoll after discharge. preferring instead to open his own design firm.

In 1997 Knoll began reissuing various Risom designs and his work is still available from Knoll and the Ralph Pucci Furniture Company as well as in reproductions and look-a-likes from many sources. Click the image link below to get to the Knoll Risom page.



Link to the Knoll Risom Page.
Link to the Knoll Risom Page.

 

On the Dwell website, a number of Jens Risom’s designs are featured in an article called Jens Risom’s Block Island Family Retreat. Click on the image link below or the preceding link to read this article.

 

Dwell Article.
Dwell Article.

 

Chest of Drawers, Brooklyn Museum, New York, 1955.
Chest of Drawers, Brooklyn Museum, New York, 1955.

 

Back in the 1950’s, Jens Risom Design, Risom’s design company, came up with the slogan “The Answer is Risom.” If one looks on the jensrisom.org website, this slogan will still be seen.

 

The New York Times featured an article on the occasion of the death of Mr. Risom which you can access here.

 

Jens Risom, Modernist Designer Whose Furniture Still Has Legs, Dies at 100, NY Times, Dec. 22, 2016.
Jens Risom, Modernist Designer Whose Furniture Still Has Legs, Dies at 100, NY Times, Dec. 22, 2016.

 

 

 

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.




HBosler

Self-Portrait
Self-Portrait