Johannes Foersom studied to become a furniture maker under Gustav Berthelsen from 1964 to -69 and continued to what today is The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts – The School of Design in Copenhagen until 1972. During the 1970’s Foersom worked as a designer at several design studios in Copenhagen while also cooperating with designer Ivan Schlechter.
From 1972 to -80 Foersom worked as a lecturer at the textile art line at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts – The School of Design and at the school´s furniture division from 1980 – 95. During the same period, he also lectured at the furniture school S.F.B.
From 1983-85 Foersom was a member of The Ministry of Educations committee on the revision of design education. He was a member of the board of Danske Designere (Danish Designers) for seven years starting in 1996 and vice chairman for the same board 2000-2003. Foersom was co-initiator of the design magazine Designmatters and was a member of the magazine’s board until 2004.
Together with designer Peter Hiort-Lorenzen, Foersom founded a design studio in Copenhagen from where they have made designs for both national and international companies such as Hay, Marimekko and Brühl & Sippold. For Swedish manufacturer Lammhults, Foersom and Hiort-Lorenzen has made several well-known designs since the mid 1980’s, such as the stackable chair Campus from 1992 which became one of the best-selling chairs of the 1990’s and was rewarded the Forsnäs-Prize.
In 2005 the duo received a lot of attention for the chair Imprint, again for Lammhults. The reason for the attention wasn’t the design, or the uses of composite made of plant fiber and PET, but the combination of the two. When shown at the furniture fair NeoCon in Chicago the same year it was rewarded The Innovation Award. Foersom and Hiort-Lorenzen have received several major awards for their work such as the Finn Juhl Prisen in 2005, Excellent Swedish Design Award in 2002, and the Bruno Mathsson Prize in 1998.
They are represented at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, The Danish Museum of Decorative Arts in Copenhagen, the Modern Museum in Stockholm, die Neue Samlung at the International Design Museum in Munich, and at the Museum of Furniture Studies in Stockholm.
