Higashikawa Town, a principal production area of Asahikawa furniture, has designated the Oda Collection as public property and promotes its use to support the furniture and design industries. This exhibition, "Verner Panton at 100: Masters of a Shared Era," presents chairs by Verner Panton—who marks the centennial of his birth in 2026—together with Joe Colombo and Poul Kjærholm, born in the same era. Through their three distinct approaches, it explores the differing philosophies and aesthetics in their chairs, and the diverse development of twentieth-century design.
When Verner Panton and Poul Kjærholm were born in Denmark, chair-making centered on wood and craftsmanship. In their youth, during the 1940s and 50s, Wegner, Jacobsen, and Mogensen built the golden age of Scandinavian furniture. In time, Kjærholm pursued the beauty of structure through minimal steel forms, while Panton achieved single-piece plastic molding—symbolizing the shift from woodworking to industrial production. Meanwhile, Joe Colombo, from an industrializing Italy, used new materials like plastic and FRP to create numerous futuristic, experimental pieces. Scandinavian craft and Italian industrial design: here you can see the rich development of twentieth-century design born from these two currents.
Exhibition Period
June 3, 2026 (Wed) – Sep 28, 2026 (Mon)
Venue
Asahikawa Design Center
Address: Nagayama 2 Jo 10 Chome 1-35 Asahikawa, Hokkaido
Business Hours: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Holidays: Tuesdays(except holidays), New Year holiday season
Organizer
Higashikawa The Town of Photography
Cooperation
Oda Collection Organization, Asahikawa Furniture Industry Cooperative