Furniture fair with Miles, Monk, Mingus and Mogensen

The designer Børge Mogensen to be honoured with jazzy showcase exhibition at Scandinavian Furniture Fair

Børge Mogensen is considered among the greatest of the generation of furniture designers who in the 1950s and 1960s made ”Danish design” world famous. This year he would have been 90 years old – and the occasion is to be marked with funky jazz for the ears and eyes at Scandinavian Furniture Fair 2004 in Copenhagen’s Bella Centre from 12 to 16 May. This important anniversary is to be celebrated by FREDERICIA FURNITURE A/S with a special exhibition inspired by Børge Mogensen’s passionate enthusiasm for jazz music and its protagonists.
“Børge Mogensen’s design is appreciated by different cultures and generations – just like good jazz music. For us, it was an obvious choice to have a jazz backdrop for our presentation of some of the best models from the Børge Mogensen collection on our catwalk,” says Thomas Graversen, managing director of FREDERICIA FURNITURE A/S, which for more than 50 years has enjoyed close cooperation with Børge Mogensen’s design studio.
The special swinging exhibition at Scandinavian Furniture Fair opens on Wednesday, 12 May at 11 am with a press conference under the heading "Miles, Monk, Mingus and Mogensen". The exhibition will subsequently be shown at other furniture fairs around the world.

New Børge Mogensen chair
Scandinavian Furniture Fair 2004 will also afford an opportunity to see something as rare as an entirely new Børge Mogensen chair. The chair - an unusual combination of dining-room chair and light easy chair – has a uniquely organic shape which in many ways distinguishes itself from the more well-known Børge Mogensen design.

Continues Thomas Graversen: “Perhaps it was too daring for anyone to commit to mass production when the prototype was first shown at the Carpenter Union’s Furniture Fair in Copenhagen in 1949 – certainly it was not put into production back then. However, we are now of the opinion that this special chair is worthy of rediscovery.”

To mark Børge Mogensen’s 90th anniversary, FREDERICIA FURNITURE A/S has produced 90 numbered examples of the chair, the model number of which - 9004 - is inspired by this anniversary year. Model number 9004 will be presented at the company’s stand at Scandinavian Furniture Fair 2004. Those who wish to obtain one of the numbered examples should contact the FREDERICIA FURNITURE A/S showroom in Sankt Annæ Passage, Copenhagen – and we would strongly advise you not to hesitate too long.

New sofa by Niels Jørgen Haugesen
FREDERICIA FURNITURE A/S has more than Børge Mogensen on the agenda at Scandinavian Furniture Fair 2004. Take a look at FREDERICIA FURNITURE A/S’ showroom in Sankt Annæ Passage, Copenhagen, and you will see an interesting sofa series entitled Distance, designed by the veteran Niels Jørgen Haugesen. The sofa has roots dating back to Haugesen’s final examination project on graduating from the Danish School of Arts and Crafts in 1961 and suggests associations with Arne Jakobsen, in whose design studio Niels Jørgen Haugesen once worked. Distance was on display as a prototype at last year’s fair – and now the finished series has been put into production.

Niels Jørgen Haugesen is also the man behind the Haugesen table, previously produced by Fritz Hansen, which was awarded the prestigious Danish ID Prize for design in 1984. FREDERICIA FURNITURE A/S is now producing this classic table in a modernised and enhanced version by Niels Jørgen Haugesen. The new Haugesen table can also be viewed at our showroom in Sankt Annæ Passage, Copenhagen.

Finally, you can also view a completely different type of table – the elegant Micado, which was given its world premiere at the Cologne exhibition. Cecilie Manz has designed this small, round, three-legged table with a refreshing dash of humour. When you see it, you will appreciate why the name is so apt.

Facts:
For more than 50 years, FREDERICIA FURNITURE A/S has been producing much of Børge Mogensen’s furniture. Our cooperation was consolidated in 1955 when producer Andreas Graversen took over FREDERICIA FURNITURE A/S, and in 1971 Mogensen and Graversen received the Furniture Award for their joint contribution to Danish furniture design. This creative alliance has carried over to the next generation: today Børge Mogensen’s design studio is headed by his son Peter Mogensen, while Andreas Graversen’s son Thomas Graversen is managing director of FREDERICIA FURNITURE A/S, a post he has held since 1995.

"Miles, Monk, Mingus and Mogensen"

To mark the 90th anniversary of Børge Mogensen, FREDERICIA FURNITURE A/S is to open a special exhibition at Scandinavian Furniture Fair 2004 in the presence of Børge Mogensen’s widow, Alice Mogensen. Son Peter Mogensen, the present-day manager of Børge Mogensen’s design studio, will also attend. The exhibition is being staged next to the FREDERICIA FURNITURE A/S and Mobili stands.