Hans Wegner and Arne Jacobsen were exemplars of the country’s facility with wood, particularly teak. Yet Finnish glassware was pre-eminent, crafted in expressive, sculptural designs by Tapio Wirkkala and Timo Sarpaneva. Likewise, Finland produced a truly ingenious Scandinavian modern furniture designer in the architect Alvar Aalto, a master at melding function and artistic form in works like the Paimio chair.

In the ’20s at the great Gustavsberg porcelain manufactory, Wilhelm Kåge introduced Scandinavian modern pieces based on influences from folklore to Cubism his skills were passed on to his versatile and inspired pupils Berndt Friberg and Stig Lindberg. Sweden was home to Bruno Mathsson, creator of the classic Grasshopper chair and Berlin daybed, but the country excelled most notably at ceramics.

The work of the designers associated with this style was founded on centuries-old beliefs in both quality craftsmanship and the ideal that beauty should enhance even the humblest accessories of daily life.Įach nation produced exceptional talents in all areas of the applied arts, yet each had its forté. The gentle, organic contours that are typical of vintage Scandinavian modern furniture appear in the work of Danish, Finnish and Swedish designers not as a stylistic gesture, but rather as a practical, ergonomic - and, as importantly, elegant - response to the human form.Ĭharacterized by bold, clean lines and simple, sturdy symmetries, Scandinavian modernism is perhaps the warmest and most organic iteration of modernist design.

Scandinavian bed frame king