Finn Juhl

Finn Juhl is a design superhero in Tokyo.

We have one of his Pelican Chairs in our living room, fabricated by one of those modernist furniture shops on Meguro Dori.

We also have several books about him, acquired at a design bookshop down the street from our apartment in Daikanyama.

Then there is Phaidon.

Phaidon Press sets the global high mark for publishing books on art, architecture, design, fashion, photography and popular culture.

Finn Juhl?

Phaidon?

Where is this going?

It is going to Phaidon’s monograph called Finn Juhl: Life, Work, World, which is on my current favorites list.

Although best known for his furniture, Juhl did pioneering work as an architect, interior designer and industrial designer, much of it from his small home and studio in Ordrup, Denmark.

Phaidon's book reproduces archival images of Juhl’s early work, alongside world-famous commissions ranging from interior designs for the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, to corporate identity work for Scandinavian Airlines.

Juhl’s colorful watercolors illustrating his furniture concepts appear throughout, anticipating Adobe Fresco by nearly 100 years.

The book opens with a familiar anecdote about a loving, but concerned father trying to nudge his teenage son away from studying art history (Juhl loved to spend free time in Copenhagen’s Glyptotek) to something more practical and gainful like architecture. Followed by Juhl admitting that despite the authoritarianism, heeding his father was a good idea and created a lifelong ambition to unite the playful experimentation of fine art with the functional utility of architecture.

You know the work, but you can learn more about the person here.