Born in Copenhagen in 1971, Mathias Bengtsson studied furniture design at the Danish College of Design (Danmarks Designskole). From 1992-3, Bengtsson attended the Art Centre College in Switzerland, after which he returned to Copenhagen to form a design collective known as Panic with four other graduates.
Bengtsson moved to London in 1996, where he enrolled in the furniture and product design course at the Royal College of Art, under the direction of Ron Arad. After he received his degree in 1999, Bengtsson collaborated with fellow graduates to create the design studio named At the Third Stroke. A year later, he co-founded Design Laboratory in partnership with Sam Buxton, then went on to establish his own studio in 2002.
Bengtssons work began gaining acclaim internationally in 1998, when his Slice and Homage to Panton chairs were exhibited at Galleria Post Design in Milan. In 2002, Bengtssons work was shown in the Design by Aluminium exhibition held at the Design Museum in London, and also exhibited by Sothebys Contemporary Art department, who presented Bengtssons work again in 2003 and 2004. In 2003, the British Council featured Bengtssons furniture in the Great Brits exhibition held in Milan during the Salone del Mobile, which later travelled to Tokyo and São Paulo.
In North America, the plywood version of the Slice chair was acquired by the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston, Texas. In New York, Phillips auctioneers, exhibited and subsequently sold Bengtssons carbon fibre Spun chaise in 2004. The following year, Swedens Röhsska Museum held a one-man show of Bengtssons work, simply titled Mathias Bengtsson.
BIO AND CV