With its proximity to the cultural hub of New York City and its quieter suburban and rural landscapes, Connecticut was fertile ground for artists and writers in the period of Modernist movements between 1913 and 1979. Many of these cultural figures are well known through biographical and critical studies. Creative Places seeks to show how place played a significant role in creative work, and how in turn the artists and writers influenced communities in Connecticut.
Jens Risom
Architecture/Design
1916 – 2016
Jens Risom is a Danish American furniture designer. An exemplar of Mid-Century modern design, Risom was one of the first designers to introduce Scandinavian design in the United States. Many of Risom’s furniture designs are considered modern classics, and his furniture is on display at the Museum of Modern Art, the Yale University Art Gallery, the Brooklyn Museum, the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, and the Cooper–Hewitt, National Design Museum. In 1949 Risom purchased a new modernist-style house in New Canaan, where he lived until 1959.
- Biography/Description of Work
Jens Risom was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 8 May 1916. His father was a prominent architect, Sven Risom, a member of the school of Nordic Classicism. Jens Risom was trained as a designer at the Copenhagen School of Industrial Arts and Design (Kunsthåndværkerskolen), where he studied under Ole Wanscher and Kaare Klint. He was classmates with Hans Wegner and Børge Mogensen. Risom then spent two years at Niels Brock Copenhagen Business College, before beginning work as a furniture developer and interior designer with the architectural firm of Ernst Kuhn. He later relocated to Stockholm, taking a job with a small architectural firm. In 1939, Risom traveled to New York City to study American design. He found it difficult to find work as a furniture designer in New York, however, and was forced to accept a number of textile designs that ultimately secured him freelance work with designer Dan Cooper. This led to his work being included in the Collier’s ‘House of Ideas’ designed by Edward Durell Stone and constructed in front of Rockefeller Center during the 1939 New York World’s Fair. In 1941, Risom teamed with entrepreneur Hans Knoll and in 1942, they launched the Hans Knoll Furniture Company with 15 of the 20 pieces in the inaugural ‘600’ line designed by Risom. These works included stools, armchairs and lounges, made from cedar and surplus webbing—works which have since become design classics. In World War II, Risom was drafted into the United States Army and served under General George S. Patton. After completing his military service, Risom briefly returned to Knoll in New York, but soon decided to launch his own firm, Jens Risom Design (JRD), on 1 May 1946. Risom’s reputation as a furniture designer continued to grow, and Risom began to promote Scandinavian design in home furniture to the broader American public. Starting in the 1960s Risom operated out of the former Connecticut Mills Co. factory in Danielson (Killingly).
- Sources view
- Wikipedia Qu3stions: short interviews with interesting people web site. Accessed 9/29/2015 at http://www.qu3stions.com/2010/07/jens-risom-furniture-designer.html Modern Homes Survey New Canaan Connecticut. Durisol House/Risom House. National Trust for Historisc Preservation. Accessed 9/29/2015 at http://www.preservationnation.org/travel-and-sites/sites/northeast-region/new-canaan-ct/sites/durisol-house-risom-house.html
- Associated Resource(s)