Hem reissues the distinctive Experiment Chair by Finnish designer Yrjö Kukkapuro

Squiggly and Joyful

By Jack Murphy • Originally published in AN Interior Fall / Winter 2024 (October 2024)
The experiment chair reissued by Hem

In 1982, Yrjö Kukkapuro, already a well-known Finnish designer, underwent a “postmodern explosion.” His Experiment Chair, with its sculptural and colorful armrests, was one output. It embodied the optimism of Finland in the early 1980s and debuted at Salone del Mobile in 1982 before going on sale in 1984. (Production ceased in 1995.) Kukkapuro, 91, considers the Experiment Chair the greatest success of his career. Now Swedish furniture brand Hem has put the chair back into production as the company’s first reissue of an archival piece.

Two Experiment Lounge Chairs at the Van Schi­jn­del House
The Experiment Chair with blue and green framing at the Van Schi­jn­del House (Erik Lefvander)

The red framed experiment chair
The chair comes in four different seat colors with four different frame options, including red (Giulio Ghirardi)

An archival photo of the chair (Courtesy Hem)

The chrome-plated frame can be paired with curvy red, blue, green, or black wooden armrests and three new upholstery options, for a total of 16 possible configurations. Some updates include small ergonomic and material changes that make the item more comfortable, durable, and environmentally responsible. The chair’s release aligns with the publication of The Blue Door, Isa Kukkapuro-Enbom’s biography of her father. “Yrjö has always been ahead of his time,” Petrus Palmér, Hem’s founder, remarked. “We’re beyond excited to bring the Experiment Chair back.”

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