bruno mathsson

Bruno Mathsson (1907-1988) is one of Sweden’s most acclaimed furniture designers, although for much of his life he was not particularly aligned with the furniture establishment. It is therefore surprising that much of his work bears similarities to the designs at perhaps one of today’s most well-known Swedish establishments (hint: big blue box stores, yellow logo). Above: Mathsson’s pioneering Grasshopper chair was designed for a hospital but was deemed to be too revolutionary; it was quickly replaced with something more traditional.

Above: the Pernilla 2 easy chair’s pressed laminate frame with curved arms and legs is based on the Grasshopper. Interestingly enough, when upholstered in red, parallel-stitched fabric the Pernilla 2 and Ikea’s bentwood POANG chair are virtually twins.

The Pernilla 3 and Model 36 are chaise lounge variants sporting the same plaited linen webbing. The longer frame liberates the sweeping lines of the curved bentwood; this is particularly true of Model 36, which eliminates the footrest in Pernilla 3.

Mathsson’s Jetson chair (1965) is likely inspired by the Hanna-Barbera cartoon of the same name, which ran between 1962-1963. The chair features a futuristic steel tube design with a tentacle-like cradle and a relatively shallow egg shell design. The Minister chair (1986) is a much later model which mixes the high seatback and headrest of Pernilla 2 with the swiveling tubular steel frame of Jetson, resulting in a far more ergonomically responsible and office-friendly design.
bruno-mathsson-int.com