Panton's wildly shaped furniture, loud colours and tacky plastic were unpopular at first. Plastic was definitely a low-status material. Who on earth would want it in their living room? Popular Danish taste did not quite know what to make of him. And it is always easy to criticise what you don't understand. As a result, the Danish 'enfant terrible' moved to Switzerland - his potential was appreciated abroad.
Innovative furniture
Today, no one doubts Verner Panton's visual talent and he has finally achieved the recognition in Denmark he deserves. Verner Panton is currently one of the most recognised Danish designer in the world, because his design has come into fashion again. Producers are fighting to put his lamps, textiles, carpets and furniture into production.
Panton's sweeping shapes and atypical seats challenged the common way of using the body. But in those days, people found it hard to understand why they should lounge about or lie in a chair or climb up into a furniture tower, when they were normally used to sitting opposite each other.
Bright-coloured plastic
Panton's colour scheme and curiosity concerning materials challenged the hand-made wooden furniture of the day and was, seen in hindsight, quite revolutionary.
Panton, the self-exiled Dane, had no inhibitions when it came to colours, which he believed had mood-altering qualities. Today, strong colours have had a revival in the world of furniture, handicrafts and design and plastic is now an accepted material that is no longer in bad taste. Verner Panton boldly went against the tide. For that he deserves respect!
Charlotte Jul is design writer and editor at KUNSTUFF, a Danish handicraft and design magazine.
The Panton Chair, 1960. The Danish Museum of Art & Design. Photo: Pernille Klemp and Ole Woldbye