Architect and Furniture Designer
Verner Panton (1926 – 1998) was a Danish architect and designer. He was born on the Danish island of Funen. He worked professionally in Binniningen, Switzerland, and the United States.
Education
Until 1951, he studied architecture at the Odense Tekniske Skole and Det Kongelige Danske Kunststakademi in Copenhagen.
Vernon Panton – The Cone Chair 1958 03 Mar 2002, Sun The Observer (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com
Biography
Verner Panton travelled widely over Europe in his Volkswagen Transporter after working as an assistant to Arne Jacobsen. His peculiarity earned him the title of “Denmark’s Most Controversial Designer” for the rest of his life.
His K1 Cone Chair was shown upside down on the ceiling at a furniture fair in the late 1950s. Inflatable furniture, a transportable, low-cost plastic house, and a spherical house – a glass sphere reminiscent of R. Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic dome – were also built by Panton. Poul Henningsen, a lighting designer, praised his colleague’s “instinct for lighting” and “sense for darkness.” Above all, Henningsen regarded Panton as a gifted atmosphere creator.
Panton emigrated to Paris and Cannes in the early 1960s, escaping the constraints of Denmark. He subsequently resided in the Swiss city of Basel. His exuberant use of colour and bold, experimental designs, which had previously been dismissed as absurd, established a new trend.
Work with Plastic and Synthetics
Panton’s stage was the Cologne International Furniture Fair. Bayer, the German chemicals behemoth, soon hired him to demonstrate its cutting-edge technologies. The company sought to show how plastic, polyurethane foam, and novel synthetic fibres may be used in various ways. Panton responded by creating Visiona 2, a wondrous fantasy world for the 1970 Cologne show. The Panton Chair, a cantilever chair made from a single piece of plastic, was the genuine show-stopper. Panton was the first to execute a similar technically and artistically advanced concept, which several other designers had explored. He had designed the 5 Chair for Thonet the previous year, a plywood design that anticipated the Panton Chair’s fundamental form. It was later refined for his Art Chair series.
Like Eero Aarnio of Finland, Panton was a master at transforming flowing forms into gorgeous plastic masterpieces, but he went far further. The Visiona 2 project was the first complete synthetic landscape, a future world that clearly demonstrated the space-age effect one year after the Apollo moon landing. Panton set intended to stimulate all of the senses, re-creating a spectrum of diverse experiences, “from claustrophobia to carnal yearning,” according to the Danish culture journal Mobilia.
Recognition
- 1960-1970: International Design Award, USA (1963); Rosenthal Studio Prize, D (1966); Poul Henningsen Prise, DK (1967); International Design Award, USA (1968); Eurodomus 2, I (1968); Medal of the Austrian Building Centre, A (1968); Prize of Honour: 4th Austrian Furniture Exhibition, A (1969).
- 1970-1980: Federal German ‘Gute Form’ Prize, DE (1972); Møbelprisen, special exhibition Pantorama is presented at the international Swiss Furniture Fair in Basle, DK (1978).
- 1980-1990: International Design Award, USA (1981, 1986); Deutsche Auswahl (German Selection) five times, DE (1981-1984); Sadolin Farve Prize, DK (1986); Bundespreis Gute Form, D (1986).
- 1990-2000: Dansk Designgråd Årspris prize, DK (1991); IF Prize, Japan (1992); Norway’s Design Prize, No (1992); Bo Bedre Prisen, DK (1998); Ridder af Dannebrogordenen, DK (1998); the Queen of Denmark awards the knight’s cross of the Dannebrog order (1998).
- 2000-Present: Vitra Design Museum dedicates Retrospektive (2000); Weil am Rhein, D, honors Verner Panton with own street name: Verner-Panton-Weg (2012).
Inside-Out House Design Urged
Verner Panton – Danish Architect and Designer 23 Jul 1969, Wed Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio) Newspapers.com
Sources
Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.
Polster, B. (2006). The A-Z of modern design. Merrell.
Wikipedia contributors. (2021, May 24). Verner Panton. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 23:34, July 30, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Verner_Panton&oldid=1024882109
More Danish Designers
-
Danish Modern – traditional materials, organic shapes
Danish Modern From the 1950s onwards, this term, along with its Scandinavian and Swedish counterparts, was widely used to describe those aspects of Danish design that acknowledged some of the characteristics of Modernism but were distinguished by the use of more traditional materials, natural finishes, organic shapes, sculptural form, and a respect for artisanship.Read More…
-
Henning Koppel (1918 – 1981) Danish Designer
Koppel had his debut as a sculptor at the Artists’ Authumn Exhibition in 1935 with an expressive portrait bust. He was also represented with drawings on several exhibitions. His best works as a sculptor are the busts of Valdemar and Jytte Koppel (1938 and 1942, both in black granite) and Tora Nordstrom Bonnier and Karl-Adam…
-
Poul Kjærholm (1929 -1980) Danish designer
He was a Danish designer who worked for his friend Ejvind Kold Christiansen and created an extensive range of furniture. He received international recognition for his contributions to the ‘Formes Scandinaves’ exhibition in Paris and the legendary ‘Lunning Prize’ for his PK22 chair. LEARN MORERead More →
-
Arnold Krog (1856 – 1931) Danish Designer – Royal Copenhagen
Arnold Krog (1856–1931) was a Danish architect, painter, and designer. He is remembered for his achievements as artistic director of Royal Copenhagen from 1884–1916. He introduced a new style with inspiration from Japanese imagery and European naturalism to the porcelain industry.Read More →
-
Ole Wanscher (1903 – 1985) Danish furniture designer
Ole Wanscher was a Danish architect, furniture designer, and writer. In 1944, studied Bygningsteknisk Skole; subsequently, architecture, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi, Copenhagen.Read More →
-
Dan Svarth ( b.1942) – Danish furniture designer
Dan Svarth is a Danish designer. He studied at the Kunsthåndvrærkerskolen, Copenhagen, to 1967, furniture design, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi, to 1969. Read More →
-
Georg Arthur Jensen silverware designer and manufacturer
Georg Jensen was a Danish metalworker. He was born in Faavad. He was apprenticed as a goldsmith. cl895-1901, he studied sculpture, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi, Copenhagen. Read More →
-
By Lassen – Danish architecture and furniture design
The Lassen brothers’ archive of architecture and furniture design represents the finest qualities of the Danish design tradition and deserves a wider audience.Read More →
-
Edvard Kindt Larsen (1901 – 1982) Danish architect designer
Danish architect and furniture designer Edvard Kindt-Larsen (1901–1982) collaborated frequently with his wife Tove Kindt-Larsen (1906–1994). The couple worked in the fields of architecture, furniture design, silverware design, and textiles from the 1930s to the 1960s, ranking among Denmark’s leading designers.Read More →
-
Flemming Eskildsen (b.1930) Danish designer and Silversmith
In 1958 Eskildsen joined the Georg Jensen design department making designs for flatware, jewellery and hollowware. He became the foreman of the design department in 1962.Read More →
-
Peder Moos (1906 – 1991) Danish Furniture Designer
The son of a farmer, he attended Askov Højskole, a folk High School, before training as a cabinetmaker in Jutland and later in Copenhagen. From 1926 to 1929, he worked in Paris, Geneva and Lausanne. In 1935, he moved into Bredgade in Copenhagen where he started his own workshop which he maintained for 20 years.…
-
Arne Jon Jutrem (1929 – 2005) Norwegian Designer
Jutrem was educated at the Norwegian School of Crafts and Design 1946-1950, and at the same time received painting lessons from Carl von Hanno. Later studies with Fernand Léger in Paris 1952-53 and with Chrix Dahl 1954-55. He made his debut as a painter at the Autumn Exhibition in 1950.Read More →
-
Grete Jalk (1920 – 2006) Danish furniture designer
Jalk was a Copenhagen native. She studied under cabinetmaker Karen Margrethe Conradsen at the Design School for Women (1940–1943) after earning a high school diploma in modern languages and philosophy. In addition to obtaining extra instruction from Kaare Klint at the Royal Academy’s Furniture School, she completed her studies at the Danish Design School in…
-
Mogens Koch (1898 – 1992) Danish Architect and Designer
In 1934, he set up his own design office. He designed the 1932 Safari chair, still in production today by Interna in Frederikssund (Denmark). He designed a range of objects, including furniture for Rasmussens Snedkerier, Ivan Schlechter, Cado, Danish CWS, and Interna; carpets; fittings; silver; and fabrics for use in the restoration of Danish churches.…
-
Finn Juhl (1912 – 1989) influential Danish Designer
Finn Juhl was one of the most influential Danish designers of the 20th century and closely associated with the Danish Modern concept. Juhl was widely known for his furniture design and product design, with a lesser but excellent reputation for architecture and interior design.Read More →
-
Steen Østergaard (b.1935) Danish furniture designer
Steen Østergaard is a Danish designer. He studied Kunsthandvraekerskolen, Copenhagen to 1960. 1962-65, he worked with architect Finn Juhl…Read More →
-
Erik Herlow (1913 – 1999) Danish architect and designer
In 1945, he set up his design studio in Copenhagen. He became head of Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademie. He worked primarily in metal, designed stainless steel and sterling silver wares for A. Michelsen, aluminium cooking wares for Dansk, and 1954 Obelisk cutlery for Universal Steel. From 1955, he was artistic director of Royal Copenhagen Porcelain…
-
Jens Risom (1916 – 2016) Danish American Furniture Designer
He studied at Krebs’ School to 1928, St. Anne Vester School to 1932, and Niels Brock’s Business School, University of Copenhagen, to 1934. Between 1935—38, he studied furniture and interior design at Kunstandvaerkerskolen, Copenhagen.Read More →
-
Christian Joachim (1870 – 1943) Danish Ceramicist restrained neo-classical forms
Christian Joachim was a Danish Ceramicist (1870-1943). Between 1889 he studied at the Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi, Copenhagen. Between 1897 and 1900, Joachim made ceramics with George Jensen in a workshop outside Copenhagen. Between 1901 to 1933 worked for the Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Manufactory, where Arno Malinowski sometimes decorated his restrained neoclassical forms. Read More…
-
Peter Hvidt (1919-1986) Danish architect and Cabinet maker
Peter Hvidt (1919-1986) was a Danish architect and Cabinet maker.Read More →
You may also be interested in
The Pritzker Architecture Prize
The Pritzker Architecture Prize recognises a living architect or architects whose built work exemplifies a blend of talent, vision, and dedication that has resulted in significant and coherent contributions to humanity and the built environment through the practice of architecture.
101 Danish Design Icons (hardcover)
By Lars Dybdahl A definitive history of Danish design in the twentieth century told by 101 iconic objects. Denmark has a long and illustrious tradition in the world of design. Danish furniture, textiles, home appliances, and utensils from the 1960s and 1970s are now more common than ever and can be found in design galleries and flea markets.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.