Jens Risom at Silvermine

Make a point of visiting the Silvermine Arts Center in New Canaan, CT in the next couple of weeks to see "The Answer is Risom", an exhibition of Jens Risom's furniture design. Jens's work is so important and relevant that anyone interested in Modern or good, timeless design in any medium should see it (if not live with it). The show runs January 8 through February 16, 2014. The opening reception is this Sunday, January 12, from 2 – 4pm. Read more about the exhibition here.

Another compelling reason to visit The Guild, as we used to call Slivermine Artis Center, is to see works by Robert Gregson. Known perhaps predominantly for his architectural photography and his kinetic, graphic and colorful sculptures in wood, this show of Bob's will be drawings. See more of Bob's wonderful, completely engaging work here. The opening for Bob's show is also Sunday, January 12, from 2 – 4pm, but the show comes down February 1.

See you Sunday at Silvermine! – GF

(Risom portrait from Knoll.com)

Jens Risom in Dwell Magazine

We were happy to receive an email today from our friend, Helen Risom Belluschi, telling us that her father, the prolific, preeminent furniture designer Jens Risom, is featured in Dwell Magazine's September issue.

We were even happier to reach into the mailbox this afternoon to find our own copy of the magazine and to get our first look at this terrific looking chair Jens designed as part of a new collection scheduled to be released this fall for Ralph Pucci.

We last wrote about Jens in this birthday salute. At 93 years old he is still busy creating designs for furniture that are as inspiring as those he made 60 years ago. Go Jens!! – GF

(Does this chair – which makes me think of a very updated wing chair – actually have 3 legs? Very cool!)

Jens Risom is 93 Today

Our favorite living modern furniture designer, Jens Risom, turned 93 today! We saw him and his wife, Henny, a week ago at the cocktail party for the New Canaan Modern House Day, looking amazingly well for a fellow his age. One of the dumbest things we ever did was to not buy a couple of half-price, floor model Risom web chairs when we saw them in a local shop about 15 years ago.

If you like Jens's work (or if you like Jens himself), here's a Jens Risom fan page on Facebook (the page administrator is apparently a mystery), and here's his website.

His first name is pronounced Yenss, by the way (it almost rhymes with "fence") -- not Gens.

And check out this picture of renowned furniture designers, from a 1961 Playboy magazine. Each designer is posing in or near his own work; Jens is on the far right. Can you identify the others?