POUL KJAERHOLM. Chair, Chris Sørensen, Denmark c. 1953, from a limited edition of at most 25 examples, cast aluminium and steel.
Height 66.7, width 63, seat height approximately 39 cm.
PROVENANCE
In private ownership, previously kept at an estate in Western Sweden.
EXHIBITED
The model was shown at the Röhsska Museum, 1954.
HISTORY
Poul Kjærholm (1929–1980) was a Danish furniture architect whose stripped-back design language and innovative, often experimental, use of materials such as aluminium, steel, glass, and leather, at a time when wood still dominated furniture manufacturing, established him as a central figure in Scandinavian design. Kjærholm began his career with cabinetmaker training in Hjørring in 1949, followed by studies at the School of Arts and Crafts in Copenhagen until 1952. Later, he worked as a teacher at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts' School of Furniture and became a professor at the same institution from 1976.
Kjærholm's early career was marked by a strong desire to experiment, and during the early years of the 1950s, he entered into a partnership with Chris Sørensen to develop new and innovative furniture types. Among the ambitions was to create a three-legged chair in a cost-effective material with a simple manufacturing process, to enable large-scale production. To realize his ambitions, he chose aluminium, a light and strong material that gave the construction good structural stability, while the malleable metal was well-suited for casting, thereby enabling rational and cost-effective production.
The chair was cast in an ingeniously constructed two-part mould, where the holes from the casting process also functioned as attachment points for the metal legs. This made the legs easily removable, which facilitated and contributed to more efficient transport and handling. The chairs were painted in black, grey, blue, or yellow, or alternatively, they could be upholstered in colour-matched textile. Despite the ingenuity of the construction and Kjærholm's high expectations, the model was never produced on a larger scale, and the number of chairs made is estimated to have been at most 25 examples. The limited production makes the model extremely rare. One example is included in the collections of the Centre Pompidou, Paris; only a few have reached the market, and the fates of most examples are currently unknown.
The chair currently at auction, together with two chairs in private ownership, has also been unknown and forgotten for a long time, and preserved in private ownership at an estate in Western Sweden. How the chairs were acquired remains to be determined, but the proximity to Gothenburg is interesting in this context, considering that Kjærholm organized an exhibition together with the photographer Keld Helmer-Petersen at the Röhsska Museum in 1954. At the exhibition, at least three chairs of this model were shown, and it is reasonable to assume that these chairs were acquired on this occasion.
LITERATURE
Michael A. Sheridan, The Furniture of Poul Kjærholm: Catalogue Raisonne, Gregory Mille & Company, New York, 2008, pp. 42–45.
Compare chair depicted in Poul Kjærholm, Poul Kjærholm: møbelarkitekt : Vendsyssel kunstmuseum, Vendsyssel kunstmuseum, Hjørring, 2007, p. 26.Show more
Condition
For questions and a condition report, please contact Design@auktionsverket.com.
Resale right
No
Artist/designer
Poul Kjaerholm (1929–1980)
Sale
The Design Sale
Sale price
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
Height 66.7, width 63, seat height approximately 39 cm.
PROVENANCE
In private ownership, previously kept at an estate in Western Sweden.
EXHIBITED
The model was shown at the Röhsska Museum, 1954.
HISTORY
Poul Kjærholm (1929–1980) was a Danish furniture architect whose stripped-back design language and innovative, often experimental, use of materials such as aluminium, steel, glass, and leather, at a time when wood still dominated furniture manufacturing, established him as a central figure in Scandinavian design. Kjærholm began his career with cabinetmaker training in Hjørring in 1949, followed by studies at the School of Arts and Crafts in Copenhagen until 1952. Later, he worked as a teacher at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts' School of Furniture and became a professor at the same institution from 1976.
Kjærholm's early career was marked by a strong desire to experiment, and during the early years of the 1950s, he entered into a partnership with Chris Sørensen to develop new and innovative furniture types. Among the ambitions was to create a three-legged chair in a cost-effective material with a simple manufacturing process, to enable large-scale production. To realize his ambitions, he chose aluminium, a light and strong material that gave the construction good structural stability, while the malleable metal was well-suited for casting, thereby enabling rational and cost-effective production.
The chair was cast in an ingeniously constructed two-part mould, where the holes from the casting process also functioned as attachment points for the metal legs. This made the legs easily removable, which facilitated and contributed to more efficient transport and handling. The chairs were painted in black, grey, blue, or yellow, or alternatively, they could be upholstered in colour-matched textile. Despite the ingenuity of the construction and Kjærholm's high expectations, the model was never produced on a larger scale, and the number of chairs made is estimated to have been at most 25 examples. The limited production makes the model extremely rare. One example is included in the collections of the Centre Pompidou, Paris; only a few have reached the market, and the fates of most examples are currently unknown.
The chair currently at auction, together with two chairs in private ownership, has also been unknown and forgotten for a long time, and preserved in private ownership at an estate in Western Sweden. How the chairs were acquired remains to be determined, but the proximity to Gothenburg is interesting in this context, considering that Kjærholm organized an exhibition together with the photographer Keld Helmer-Petersen at the Röhsska Museum in 1954. At the exhibition, at least three chairs of this model were shown, and it is reasonable to assume that these chairs were acquired on this occasion.
LITERATURE
Michael A. Sheridan, The Furniture of Poul Kjærholm: Catalogue Raisonne, Gregory Mille & Company, New York, 2008, pp. 42–45.
Compare chair depicted in Poul Kjærholm, Poul Kjærholm: møbelarkitekt : Vendsyssel kunstmuseum, Vendsyssel kunstmuseum, Hjørring, 2007, p. 26.Show more
Condition
For questions and a condition report, please contact Design@auktionsverket.com.
Resale right
No
Artist/designer
Poul Kjaerholm (1929–1980)
Sale
The Design Sale
Sale price
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
