Bo Ljungberg

Bo Ljungberg (1939–2007) was a Swedish designer and artist associated with modular furniture and experimental design in Sweden during the second half of the 20th century. He is best known for his long collaboration with Holger Bäckström and for their joint work with the manufacturer Elitmöbler in Tibro. Ljungberg’s work reflects a systematic approach to form, emphasizing modularity, repetition, and adaptability in both artistic and functional contexts.

Biography

Bo Ljungberg was active as a designer and artist during the 1960s and 1970s, a period marked by the expansion of industrial production and increasing interest in flexible interior solutions. In the early 1960s he began collaborating with Holger Bäckström, forming the partnership Beck & Jung. Together they developed furniture systems and design objects that combined rational construction with conceptual ideas derived from contemporary art and architecture.

In addition to furniture design, Ljungberg and Bäckström worked in several artistic media, including painting, sculpture, and early computer-generated art. Their work explored geometric structures and serial repetition, principles that were reflected in their modular shelving and storage systems produced by Elitmöbler. These systems were designed to be easily assembled, expanded, and reconfigured, making them well suited to modern domestic and public interiors.

Bo Ljungberg’s work represents a synthesis of artistic experimentation and industrial design in postwar Sweden. His furniture and objects remain associated with the modular and system-based approach that defined much Scandinavian design during the late 20th century, valued for their functional flexibility, structural clarity, and conceptual rigor.