Modernity | Poul Henningsen The Original Master of Light

Modernity | Poul Henningsen: The Original Master of Light

A major exhibition on the work of the designer, celebrating 100 years of the PH Lamp. 

Modernity is pleased to announce an upcoming exhibition dedicated to the lighting designs of Danish designer Poul Henningsen (1894–1967), one of the most influential figures in twentieth-century design. The exhibition at Modernity London brings together a concentrated and spectacular selection of Henningsen’s works, tracing his development from early domestic models to large-scale architectural fixtures.

Henningsen’s lamps have won several awards internationally, including the highest accolade at the Barcelona World Exhibition in 1929, and were exhibited at the World Exhibitions in Brussels (1935) and New York (1939). More recently, Poul Henningsen’s iconic lighting designs, particularly his multi-shade PH lamps and the PH Artichoke, are held in several major international museums, including The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met), the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London, and the Designmuseum Danmark in Copenhagen. In 2025, the Museum of Modern Art acquired from Modernity a rare PH 4/4 Pulley Ceiling Lamp that previously was owned by Alvar Aalto.

The exhibition focuses on Henningsen’s systematic approach to lighting, in which control of light takes precedence over decoration.

Available to view at Modernity, London, from 4 March to 28 March 2026.

Practical information:
FREE ticketed entry 
Opening hours: 4 –28 March 2026, 10am—6pm
Address: Modernity, Newson's Yard, 57 Pimlico Road, SW1W 8NE, London 
For more information, email london@modernity.se or visit modernity.se/