Modern Design Gallery 170, first floor
Main Building
This exhibition focuses on the Danish silversmith Georg Jensen (1866–1935) and the renowned group of designers who helped establish the company he founded as one of the world's most important silverwares firms.
It includes some 140 examples of Georg Jensen Inc.'s innovative flatware and holloware, along with original design drawings for many of the objects. Jensen's own designs are represented, as well as objects by many of the artists whose work has helped define the firm's singular style over the years—such as Johan Rohde, Harald Nielsen, Sigvard Bernadotte, Magnus Stephensen, and Verner Panton.
Other highlights include drawings for and pieces from Jensen's celebrated 1905 Blossom service, the lids of which are decorated with a full magnolia bud, and silverwares and drawings by Soren Georg Jensen and Henning Koppel, whose abstract, expressive shapes in the mid-20th century led the firm in new directions that have continued to the present. At once universal and versatile, each Jensen object is a complete sculptural statement defined by the clarity of its contours.
This exhibition is sponsored by Collab, a collaboration of design professionals supporting the modern and contemporary design collections at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Collab will honor Georg Jensen and Georg Jensen, Inc. with the 2006 Design Excellence Award at the November 17 opening.
Hans-Kristian Højsgaard, President & CEO of Georg Jensen, will be on hand to accept the award. Michael von Essen, Curator of the Georg Jensen Museum in Copenhagen and Monique Faber, Jensen's Brand Heritage Manager, will also present an illustrated lecture on Georg Jensen and the other artists who contributed to the firm's unsurpassed reputation.