Daiku bench is based on inspiration from a specific place and a specific Japanese technique.
As a contribution to The Cabinetmakers Autumn Exhibition 2023 called « A Piece for A Place » with site specific designs, this piece is inspired by a beautiful powerhouse building by the Danish national rail company DSB’s former locomotive workshops on Otto Busses Vej. Today, the space is empty and has a meditative atmosphere, with large Romanesque windows and a beautiful exposed roof structure.
The technique comes from the Japanese Daiku-san carpenters. When the carpenters process large pieces of timber for columns they use facets to control the large curvy shapes. I used this technique on a unique large piece of wood originated from Pierluigi Ghianda’s workshop in Milan. Ghianda’s adult daughters remember the large pieces lying in the workshop when they were little, which means this wood has been saved for decades, awaiting a special purpose.
The making was done in the spirit of the Japanese Dauki-san, using a lot of different hand tools to achieve the large carpentry joinery and the rounded shapes. The impressive size of the timber provide a sense of stability and calm, almost like sitting on a big tree trunk in the forest
Creating designs with an equal focus on sculptural and functional qualities, Rasmus Fenhann’s works are made in carefully selected natural materials, especially wood. He is considered as one of the most important Scandinavian designers today in the field of handmade art design. His working processes combines traditional, sometimes near-forgotten craft techniques with advanced high-tech procedures, including computer-based sketching and visualization. His painstakingly precise treatment of wood sur faces, ending up in a velvet-like, soft finish and with invisible joints, is the result of an extraordinary effort, which is both mental and physical. It is exquisite craftsmanship, close to the obsessive. In the words of the artist, “It has to do with being able to zoom in, infinitely… There mustn’t be any flaws, not even the tiniest, in the delicate woodwork. Time is key, and infinite repetition is expected until a level of breathtaking per fection is reached.”
Rasmus Fenhann has a double education from the Danish Royal Academy of Ar t and Design, Furniture Depar tment 1997-2003, and as a Cabinetmaker 1991-1996. He has frequently exhibited in Japan, Europe and in the United States, and his works are part of impor tant private and public collections including the permanent collection of the Designmuseum Danmark, Copenhagen, Denmark. Rasmus Fenhann has received several Prizes and awards such as the Danish Arts and Crafts Silver Medal, 2004; the Finn Juhl Prize, 2016 and most recently, the Inga & Ejvind Kold Christensen Prize in 2022.