Sideboard with Tray Unit

Design  Finn Juhl
Manufacturer  House of Finn Juhl
Made in  Denmark
Dimensions  L 176.5cm x D 46.5cm x H 89.5cm
Colour & Materiality  Teak, oak, walnut, Oregon pine veneer w/ matching wooden toes; Legs in black steel. Legs also available in orange or light blue upon request; Sliding doors in matching wood veneer

Finn Juhl was preoccupied with shapes and colours during all of his life because of his great interest in cubist and surrealistic art. Finn Juhl was a pioneer with regards to including colour as an active element in space, furniture and textiles. This he did with a rare confidence so that his arrangements appear with great sensuality as a coherent whole – “Gesamtkunstwerk”.

The Sideboard with coloured sliding doors and trays was designed by Finn Juhl for BOVIRKE in 1955. It is part of a theme with cubist wood cabinets that float on delicate steel frames with wood “feet” and in particular the colours which Finn Juhl arranged throughout the 1950s and 60s. The colour elements reflected his fascination with Goethe’s famous colour circle, which placed the colours in a harmonious cohesion. Finn Juhl’s own house at Ordrupgaard in Copenhagen is a bright example of his use of colours.

As one of the leading figures in twentieth century furniture design, Finn Juhl is responsible for introducing North America to the Danish Modern movement through his work on the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. Originally trained as an architect, he began creating furniture for himself in the 1930's and soon gained widespread recognition for his organic forms and expressive treatment of wood, often taking the material past the limits of what was thought possible. Thinking with the mindset of a sculptor, his ambition was to design furniture with movement and life.