Hans J. Wegner for Johannes Hansen Rare ‘Architect’s Desk’ in Teak and Oak

Hans J. Wegner for Johannes Hansen, writing desk, model 'JH571', teak, oak, metal, Denmark, 1953

Out of all the desks that Wegner designed, the ‘JH571‘ is the most 'Wegnerian'. This is mostly due to the boldly angled legs that are being held in place by diagonal stretchers. Wegner designed the desk in 1953 and took inspiration from seventeenth-century Spanish tables that also have slanted legs and metal struts. All parts of the desk are made separately and even the drawers are suspended beneath the rectangular tabletop. Although the design is elegant, it still has a strong graphic outline. The details of the design and the overall appearance of this well-balanced desk make it pleasing to look at. The piece is stamped with the manufacturer's signature.

Hans Wegner (1914-2007) is one of the most prolific furniture designers of the world. Wegner's furniture was designed with the greatest understanding of materials, construction techniques, and use. He is known to be an excellent cabinet maker with thorough understanding of the materials he worked with, yet his greatest aim was to create expressive and exciting design. Although Wegner was a functionalist, he was not a rational dogmatist such as Kaare Klint, of whom he was a student. Instead, his designs sparkle with inventiveness and sculptural sense. However, this never meant that his organic and sensuous forms left the strict rules of functionalism. At heart, Wegner was an idealist. He was relentless in his quest for the best chair: 'there is never one damn thing that cannot be made better'. But Wegner was aware of the fact that you cannot design the 'perfect' chair, which gave him the freedom to produce as much as possible. He left behind more than 3500 drawings and about 500 of his designs went into production. His designs feature in the UN Building and Seagram Building in New York, UNESCO's headquarters. NATO's headquarters in Paris, and several buildings by the architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

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