In 1959 Arne Jacobsen created Gryden™ - in English meaning the Pot™ - a light take on an embracive lounge chair and originally designed for the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen.
With the relaunch of the Pot we aim to revitalise another Arne Jacobsen signature sculpture for the modern interior. One that works as beautifully standing alone in a home lounge setting as it does arranged in pairs in a welcoming cocktail bar or the informal meeting room.
The shape is the same as the original design from 1959 - the seat and materials have been improved to meet todays standards for comfort and durability. The Pot comes in an endless variety of fabrics and leathers. It is small yet embracive, it is modern yet timeless and it is an Arne Jacobsen original.
Originally the Pot decorated both the SAS Royal Hotels sophisticated Orchid bar and the astonishing winter garden. The chair too was found on every floor in the hotel across from the elevators, greeting guests with a recognisable meeting point. Needless to say, the Pot chair inhabited the hotel as much as its design icon siblings, the Egg™ and the Swan.
The relaunched Pot chair is suitable for both private and contract use based on its renewed durability and timeless quality, both characteristics of the Fritz Hansen way of manufacturing and the Arne Jacobsen way of designing.
Arne Jacobsen
Arne Jacobsen was born on February 11, 1902 in Copenhagen. His father, Johan Jacobsen, was a wholesale trader in safety pins and snap fasteners. His mother, Pouline Jacobsen, was trained as a bank clerk and often painted floral motifs in her spare time. The family lived in Claessensgade, Copenhagen in a typical Victorian style home. Maybe that is why Arne, as a child, painted the coloured wallpaper in his room white, as a contrast to his parents’ overly decorated taste.
Background & school relations
At Nærum Boarding School, he met the Lassen brothers; later, Flemming Lassen was to become his partner in a series of architectural projects. Arne Jacobsen was described as a restless pupil, always up to pranks, and often with a self-deprecating humour. Already as a child, he showed an extraordinary talent for drawing and depicting nature through scrupulous studies. Originally, Jacobsen wanted to be painter, but his father felt that architect was a more sensible choice, and that is how it was. Nevertheless, Jacobsen later had ample opportunity to paint and to express his ideas through highly accurate drawings.
The Pleasant and the necessary trips abroad
Jacobsen’s travelling began already in his twenties, when he went to sea. The voyage, the only one in his career as a sailor, went to New York. Then followed an apprenticeship as a bricklayer in Germany and a series of study and drawing excursions to Italy. During this period, Jacobsen produced some of his finest watercolours with classic motifs, where he captures atmospheres and renders materials and shapes accurately and carefully. From the beginning of his career, Jacobsen turned his gaze abroad, without ever abandoning Denmark or the Danish traditions in his field.
Arne Jacobsen behind the design
In summarising Jacobsen as a person, one arrives at a picture that reflects to a high degree the nuances in his purely professional production: On the one hand the insistent, perfectionist modernist, to whom no detail was trivial, although the main picture was basically black/white and unambiguous. On the other hand, the nature-loving botanist and jovial family man. Overall, the professionalism and almost nerdy passion for his work are indispensable aspects in descriptions of Jacobsen - including his own descriptions.
Fritz Hansen is an exclusive, international design brand whose timeless collection unites world-famous classic and contemporary furniture, lightning and accessories.