Kurt Ejvind Østervig
Kurt Ejvind Østervig was born in 1912 in Odense, Denmark. He was originally trained and worked as a shipbuilding engineer at the Odense Stålskibsværft (Odense Steel Shipyard). However, by the 1930s Østervig shifted to furniture design because of his passion for woodworking.
His career as a furniture designer began at E. Knudsen’s architectural design studio in Odense. During the 1930s and 1940s, E. Knudsen’s company was one of the leading and largest furniture manufacturers in Denmark. In 1947, Østervig opened his first own studio as a freelance furniture designer, with a focus on modern design. He was well-known for his unusually detailed and perfect drawings, which resembled pieces of art or coloured photos rather than working drawings. In the following decades Østervig worked with many of the leading Scandinavian furniture producers of the period.
Particularly fond of working with oak, often combined with leather, he designed many special sets of furniture for ships, hotels, cinemas and nursing homes. Kurt Østervig was exceptionally versatile, and thanks to his distinctive designs, he aroused widespread international interest and won numerous design competitions during his career. He won at the Milan Triennale in 1953 and in 1960. In the 1960s, one of Østervig’s designs was selected for an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Østervig had a flair for the dramatic, infusing his furnishings with unique elements that stood out among the designs of the day. From elegant, organic to coarse and purely functional furniture, his versatility earned him recognition. Distinctive shapes, efficiency, and master craftsmanship define his designs. The triangle is a recurring shape in his designs, challenging conventions of structure and form. The iconic “Butterfly Chair” exemplifies Østervig’s aesthetic, and it remains a highly sought-after piece of Danish Modern design to this day. His reverence for wood – which is typical of Danish mid-century designers – is visible in all his designs, honouring the innate qualities of wood with a minimalist aesthetic. His sculptural and streamlined pieces also showcase his exceptional skills as a craftsman. Kurt Østervig can certainly be called an underestimated designer, considering his talent, body of work, and his recognition. Compared to the growing number of world-renowned Danish furniture architects, Kurt Østervig has never become a big name, recognised in the same league. This has been changing in the past years, and today he is getting more attention – not only from connoisseurs but also from people outside the design world who stumble upon his great designs.
Several decades after his death in 1986, many of Kurt Østervig's design furniture models have now become collectibles and are recognised around the world as high-quality pieces of Danish mid-century design. ~H.
