The Grasshopper, a chair designed 81 years ago by Danish designer Finn Juhl, has been reissued by the furniture brand that bears his name.
The chair is being unveiled at the Salone del Mobile furniture fair, which opens today as part of Milan design week. Until now only the two original chairs made by Juhl in 1938 existed.

"It seemed natural that this chair should be brought back to life at some point," said co-founder of House of Finn Juhl, Hans Henrik Sørensen, who will show the chair at the Salone del Mobile.
"Ever since I bought the book Håndværket viser vejen [The Craftsmanship Leads the Way] as a teenager, in which the Grasshopper was depicted, I have always been fascinated by this expressive chair."
With an oak or walnut frame, and upholstery in fabric or leather, the back legs and armrests converge to a point on the floor at the back of the chair, giving the impression of the bent legs of a grasshopper about to jump.
The buttoned back of the chair extends up from the base and curls around on each side at the top to cocoon the sitter. This gives the piece the look of an insect-like head.

"The Grasshopper gives you the impression of something powerful and springy ? it is both graphical and organic at once, almost animalistic in its expression and in its details," said Sørensen. "Just take a look at how each part plays with shape and profile ? the round and the concave that gently meets in a delicate joint."
The com...