In a series of 30 small woven and painted artworks called ‘A Danish Colour Odyssey’, Ptolemy Mann challenges the idea that the Danish and Scandinavian aesthetic abroad has become synonymous with a desaturated colour palette. By looking at the relationship between the work of Villem Lundstrøm and Finn Juhl, she finds a vibrant, modernist colour palette which has been a source of inspiration in her new work.
Aug. 2025
Finn Juhl thought of colour as an ’emotional trigger’ and it’s this emotional approach to colour that interests me. I have now been invited by The House of Finn Juhl to have a solo show at their Copenhagen showroom in October 2025.
The linear restriction of the slow weaving process on a dobby loom echo’s Finn Juhl’s modernist furniture design. A sophisticated understanding of precise craftsmanship is required for both. My work has always had a close relationship to architecture – my thesis at the Royal College of Art In 1997 was about the relationship of weaving and architecture with colour.
I am particularly interested in the Trusteeship Council Chamber within the United Nations Headquarters in New York which Juhl was commissioned to design in 1951/2. New York is the city of my birth which gives this project a special resonance for me. For this project he focused on the central idea of Gesamtkunstwerk – a total work of art art – where every design element complements each other to create a functional and aesthetic unity.
Following on from my previous project I’d like to realise a larger artwork/series made site specifically for the glorious showroom on Gothersgade. It is a beautiful architectural space known as the historic Wilhelm Hansen House, which has been the centre of music publishing and trade in Copenhagen since 1879 and was once owned by Finn Juhl’s wife Hanne Wilhelm Hansen (and her family before).
My intention is to create an installation that works in harmony with this extraordinary space and with the furniture it showcases. I also wish to continue and expand my Danish Colour Odyssey.
The six-week residency at SVFK has allowed me to explore my love of Finn Juhl more deeply. By creating 2 warps with parallel ‘boarders’ at their edge I’ve echoed the incredible ceiling he created for the Trusteeship Council Chamber within the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
The works are deliberately ‘minimal’ in a way – to let the simple geometry and symmetry flow through the woven process. I’ve also looked more closely at the vibrant colour palette of fabrics that The House of Finn Juhl currently use for their bespoke furniture. Surprising in their gem-like saturation – yet still somehow distinctly Danish.
The resulting, large-scale Triptych is titled ‘After Finn (Gesamtkunstwerk 1-3)’ in direct reference to his mid-century, NYC, architectural masterpiece.
This new work will hang on the central back wall of the showroom drawing visitors into the beautiful Gothersgade space.
