You probably are familiar with Panton’s work in terms of bright colors and distinctive chairs. His most famous furniture works were the Cone Chair (1958), the Peacock Chair, The Panton Chair of 1960 and the S Chair, but you may also recognize his other popular pieces like the Bachelor Chair, Trumpet Chair, Heart Cone Chair, Relaxer Chair, and his confusing Phantom Chair/Table.
As mentioned, Panton was also a huge proponent of color, often times blending hues in dizzying palettes. While his furniture was available in an array of bright and bold colors, it was in his experimental interior environments that his talent with colors was most evident, often crafting futuristic spaces with the uses of color and undulating wall, floor and furniture elements. He was also known for his lighting pieces (which also featured bold, bright, “1960s” styled elements) and his fabric ideas. He was often lauded for his innovative use of plastic materials in his work, also adding to the futuristic-feel of his projects.
Panton started his design training in the field of architectural engineering in the city Odense, Denmark, then moved on to study architecture at the Royal Danish Academy of Art Copenhagen. He worked under Arne Jacobsen right after college from 1950-1952, but quickly moved on to opening his own office soon after. Along with impressive interior, lighting, furniture and color design work, he also wowed experts and audiences alike with his incredible architectural ideas, like a collapsible house, the Cardboard House and the Plastic House. It was the year 1960 that saw Panton creating the most important design of his career, the world’s first single-form injection-molded plastic chair, The “Stacking chair” or “S chair”, which is still produced by companies like Vitra today.
The last years of his career saw his most work in interior environments, notably a German boat interior that is now a museum. Though it would be hard to imagine anyone actually living in any of his psychedelic interiors, it did pave the way for encouraging brighter and bolder ideas in home designs. Popular in the 1950s-1970s, Panton’s work had a resurgence in popularity in the early 2000s, and has taken its place alongside other design luminaries in the popular use of Mid-Century Modern style seen in homes and commercial spaces today. Photos taken from 1stdibs.
