ROBERT SEVER CELEBRITYJI - DalCasa

ative Arts, there was always the presence of Wegner’s
characteristic approach of showing the bare structure of
an archaic type of a chair by liberating it from any unnecessary
accessories, only to present it in its own pure
construction. His work belongs to the minimalist school,
along with the unavoidable preservation of functionality.
Wegner designed over five hundred chairs, many of which
have found their place as museum items. The “Peacock”
chair, inspired by the classic “Windsor” chair, is a folding
chair that could be hung against the wall; then there is
the multi-functional “Valet” chair, which was designed as
an economical seating object, but also a storage for different
parts of clothes; the “Ox” chair with or without its
horns; “Wishbone” or “Y” chair as the most commercially
successful of the bunch – these are just some of the models
that clearly show that Wegner insisted on pure form,
clear purpose and top-notch skill, and isn’t that what
good design is all about?
The true beauty of Wegner’s genius also has to be perceived
within his cooperation with leading furniture manufacturer
Johannes Hansen. Hansen’s approach to accept
the ideas of young, innovative designers led to a
perfect combination of a designer and a manufacturer.
Their cooperation lasted for many years, from 1941 all the
way to 1966, and they consistently displayed their joint
products at artistic joinery exhibits.
The Wegner – Hansen cooperation also resulted in a peculiar
“Three- Legged Shell Chair” created in 1963, with a
shape that demanded the bending of the wood in three
directions, so its production was originally quite limited.
The production was inspired with an idea that a chair can
stand all by itself, without the need to make it a part of
a furniture ensemble. The 1990s and their return to individualism
have brought increased interest for the more
specific designer pieces, such as Wegner’s three-legged
chair that was re-launched in 1997, with the production
expenses significantly reduced. Its originality and lower
price led to its reaffirmation. At the official website of its
manufacturer Carl Hansen & Son, you can find a curious
piece of data that one of the original chairs from the
1960s was sold for 104 000 Danish crowns at the Christies
auction in London in 1999, while the new chair cost thirteen
times less at that same time in Danish stores.
Wegner’s three-legged chair is an original piece of furniture
that is easily imaginable within a minimalist interior
of a modern home. It can stand by itself as an individual
piece of furniture, or it can be a part of an ensemble
along with several other similar pieces that are, for
instance, arranged around a round table. Although it
stands on three legs, this chair is very stable and firm, and
it received the highest possible evaluation mark at a testprogramme
of the Danish Institute of Technology in 1999.
“A chair cannot have its ugly side”, Wegner once said, “it
has to be equally gorgeous from all possible angles.” The
“Three-Legged Shell Chair” is precisely like that – unpretentious,
unassuming and beautiful in its simplicity that is a
result of some studious designing.
For the last several decades, Wegner continued designing
chairs, but he also dedicated himself to designing lighting
objects. For example, in cooperation with his daughter,
he created the “Pole” lamp in 1976. As a true master at
what he did, he often pointed out that there is no such
thing as an ideal chair. To make a good chair is always a
task that is never truly completed. There are always some
new challenges, although the function of sitting has really
remained unchanged for thousands of years now. The
peak of Wegner’s fame and his design’s popularity came
in the 1950s and 60s, and pieces of his furniture, especially
chairs, can be found in collections of the most prestigious
museums around the world. The Royal Association of Arts
in London awarded him a prestigious title of an honorary
royal industrial designer in 1959.
Hans Wegner was one of the most innovative and productive
Danish designers. His work is a combination of
exceptional skill and analysis of modern living, while his
name stands as a symbol of mid-twentieth-century Danish
design and alternative modern aesthetics. During his
extremely lengthy career, he has designed some of the
most imaginative chair models that have truly marked
the century. He only retired from the public eye during
the last decade of his life. He died at the beginning of this
year, at the age of 93.
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