A pioneer of modern Danish design, Børge Morgensen worked to create durable and usable furniture that would enrich people's everyday lives.
Mogensen’s ideal was functional furniture with a restrained aesthetic. He believed that furniture should create a sense of tranquillity, and have a modest appearance that encourages people to live their lives unpretentiously. His masterful sense of materials and proportions, in combination with an emphasis on simple lines and surfaces, resulted in aesthetically clear designs which were easily produced.
The designer's artistic temperament often led him to break his own rules - but without abandoning their original intent. Throughout his life, Mogensen was one of the boldest voices in the critical debate on furniture design. He often criticized his peers for surrendering their artistic authenticity in favor of short-sighted trends, and he always welcomed innovations that he found offered real progression. He preferred refined, yet rustic, natural materials such as solid oak, natural leather, wool fabrics, and brass mountings.
In 1948 Mogensen and his friend Hans J. Wegner participated in MoMA’s international furniture competition focused on ”low-cost furniture.” He experimented with plywood shells and fused the international modernist movement with his own design identity. Mogensen also found inspiration in ethnic arts & crafts, lithography and Japanese wooden carvings.
Mogensen’s early contribution to Danish design came right after his graduation, when he was hired as chief designer for the Danish Coop FDB. There he led a program to renew Danish furniture culture and create furniture that would be affordable for all social classes. In 1950, Mogensen opened a private design office, and in 1952 he began collaborating with young interior architect and entrepreneur, Andreas Graversen, who would later become the owner of Fredericia Furniture.
