Fritz Hansen introduces the Oksen™ by Arne Jacobsen: a luxurious lounge chair conceived to elevate any lounge setting in private homes and corporate offices. Unlike many of Jacobsen’s other designs, the Oksen was not intended for a specific architectural project, but was rather the result of years of design experimentation.
The chair was considered quite rare among connoisseurs due to its short original production period as well as its controversial, powerful expression: the voluminous Oksen radiates edge and personality and, like its predecessor, the Egg™, inhabits a room like no one else. Jacobsen spent no fewer than five years developing the Oksen. In contrast to many of his earlier pieces, which are characterised by rounded, organic shapes, this lounge chair is notable for its much sharper silhouette. Always seeking to surprise the public, Jacobsen repeatedly returned to the Oksen project starting in 1962 and until the final version took shape in 1966. The result was not only the largest but also one of the most characteristic chairs Jacobsen ever designed. Clearly inspired by American recliner chairs, the Oksen also reflects profound Germanic and Japanese influences.
The lounge chair by Fritz Hansen
The design can also be viewed as Jacobsen’s counter-reaction to the common perception of him as a designer focused on soft, sculptural form. While sculptural in its own way, the Oksen is notable for its completely different, angular form. It is designed in a style that positions it between the soft and organic works from Jacobsen’s Hotel Royal project, among those, the Egg™, the Swan™ and the Drop™ chairs –and the more geometric Oxford™ office chair, designed for the professors at St. Catherine’s College in Oxford. The lounge chair will be available in Fritz Hansen Concept Stores and select dealers around the world from October 2017.
