Jens Risom

Emigrating from Denmark to the USA in 1939, Risom met Hans Knoll in the early 1940’s. The two collaborated for an exhibition for the New York World’s Fair and later Risom became Knoll’s company first designer.

This collaboration only ended in 1943 when the Danish designer left Knoll to join the U.S. Army. Returning to the United States in 1946 Risom founded his own design practice, Jens Risom Design, which he ran until the early 1970’s.

After selling his company, Risom moved to Connecticut and started a design consultancy firm.

In 1970 Risom was appointed a trustee of The Rhode Island School of Design where in 2004 he received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts. In 1996 Risom received the Danish Knight’s Cross

Risom’s designs are in numerous collections including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; and The RISD Museum, Providence, Rhode Island.