Einar Johansen

Johansen worked for Søholm from approximately 1958 to the mid-1960s, a period that produced some of the most collectible pieces in the factory's history. His work at Søholm was characterized by sculptural stoneware forms with deeply carved or impressed surface relief and rich, layered glazes. The palette he favored ran from matte earthy browns and charcoal blacks to the vivid blue-grey glazes that define what collectors now call his blue series. That series, which includes numbered models such as 3184, 3333, and 3334, represents some of the purest expressions of Danish mid-century modernist ceramics: organic shapes that read as both craft objects and small sculptures.

Beyond bowls and vases, Johansen is especially associated with large stoneware table lamps, notably model 941, which appears in pairs at auction and is among the most sought-after items from the Søholm catalogue. The lamp forms feature vertical ribbing, repeating geometric incisions, or all-over relief texture, combined with the blue glaze that became his signature. He also produced wall relief plates, with model 3333 among those recorded in the auction market. After his time at Søholm, Johansen returned to his own studio practice.

Søholm itself closed in 1996, and items from its mid-century output have grown steadily in secondary-market interest across Scandinavia and internationally. On Auctionist, Johansen's work accounts for 33 items, with the majority catalogued as table lamps and ceramics. His pieces appear most frequently at Danish auction houses, led by Palsgaard Kunstauktioner with 16 lots, and at Swedish houses including Helsingborgs Auktionskammare and Woxholt Auktioner. Prices for pairs of the model 941 lamps have reached 7,323 SEK, with individual pieces and floor vases also selling regularly into the low four-figure range.