Oscar Niemeyer

HAS TO BE CHANGED

Poul Kjærholm (1929-1980) designed modern functionalist furniture that was praised for its understated elegance and clean lines. He studied at the School of Arts and Crafts in Copenhagen where he would later teach. He was also lecturer and professor in the furniture and interior design department at the Academy of Art from 1957-76. Although he was formally trained as a cabinetmaker, Kjærholm was a strong proponent for industrial production, and his work stands out among that of his Danish contemporaries because of his extensive use of steel frames rather than the traditional wood. He was quote as saying “I consider steel a material with the same artistic merit as wood and leather. I work quite deliberately with the fact that steel and stone age beautifully, just like wood and leather.”

He did, however, design many of his seats in natural materials like cane, canvas, leather and rope. Over all these years he designed dozens of chairs, long chairs, and tables that became landmarks for Danish furniture design, including the famous, PK20, PK22 chair and the PK 24 Chaise Longue.

His designs are in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the V&A Museum in London and other museum collections in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Germany. His numerous awards include two Grand Prix at the Milan Trienale (1957 & 1960), the ID Award and the legendary Lunning Award (1958).

”Poul Kjærholm is a man whose modern, functionalistic approaches keep all extravagant tendencies towards luxury at bay.” – Gerrit Rietveld

Interesting literature:

The Furniture of Poul Kjaerholm: Catalogue Raisonné,  Michael Sheridan, Gregory R. Miller & Co., 2008