Designer
Niels Jørgen Haugesen
Niels Jørgen Haugesen was a Danish furniture architect, born on 14 August 1936 in Vivild and died on 17 September 2013. He qualified as a cabinetmaker in 1956 and graduated as a furniture architect from the Kunsthåndværkerskolen in 1961.…
Biography
Background
Niels Jørgen Haugesen was a Danish furniture architect, born on 14 August 1936 in Vivild and died on 17 September 2013. He qualified as a cabinetmaker in 1956 and graduated as a furniture architect from the Kunsthåndværkerskolen in 1961. From 1966 he worked for Arne Jacobsen, where Lex gives the period as 1966–1971.
Signature Style
Lex says he handled both wood and metal and that his sculptural, often minimalist work holds elements of both past and future. HAY connects his minimalist designs, with clean lines and structural clarity, to the influence of Jacobsen's attention to craftsmanship, and says he cared more about the utility of an object than about recognition.
Notable Works
- X-Line chair (1977), a stackable steel chair that Lex calls one of the icons of Danish high-tech; relaunched by HAY
- Haugesen table, which won the ID Prize in 1986
- Fleur chair (1998)
- Distance sofa (2002)
Legacy
He opened his own studio in 1971, which he ran in partnership with Gunvor Haugesen from 1980 to 1995, and taught at Danmarks Designskole. Danish Wikipedia says his work is held by museums that include Louisiana, Trapholt and MoMA in New York.
