Niels Jørgen Haugesen

Niels Jørgen Haugesen

Niels Jørgen Haugesen (1936-2013) is one of Denmark's most important furniture designers. Born in Vivild, to the north of Aarhus, Haugesen began his career with a solid craft foundation: in 1956 he completed his apprenticeship as a carpenter before studying furniture design at the renowned Kunsthåndværkerskolen in Copenhagen, from where he graduated in 1961.

Haugesen gained his first professional experience in the late 1960s when he worked for design legend Arne Jacobsen. In 1971 he founded his own design studio, which he ran together with Gunvor Haugesen from 1980 to 1995, while simultaneously working as a lecturer at the Danish Design School, thereby influencing subsequent generations of designers.

Haugesen became internationally known primarily through his iconic chair collection X-Line, which was created in the late 1970s. The minimalist design piece is considered a timeless classic and is being revived thanks to HAY. In addition to the X-Line chairs Haugesen created important works such as the Fleur chair (1998) and the Distance sofa (2002). His work is now represented in some of the most important museums in the world, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Danish Museum of Decorative Arts, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in the Louvre in Paris.

Haugesen has received numerous awards, including the ID Prize in 1986 for the Haugesen table and in 1987 for the X-Line chair, and the Furniture Prize in 1996. He was a fellow of the Danish Art Foundation in 1982 and 1987. Since 1998 he has received a lifetime scholarship from the foundation, a rare recognition of his life's work.