CARL HANSEN & SON RELEASE POUL KJAERHOLM TABLE
Poul Kjærholm, one of the biggest names in Danish furniture design, joins Hans J. Wegner, Ole Wanscher and Kaare Klint at Carl Hansen & Son with the addition of his thoughtfully crafted tables, designed for the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1955, to the Carl Hansen & Son collection.
Carl Hansen & Son welcomes Poul Kjærholm to its fold of designers with the introduction of two of tables he designed in 1955 for the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. The two tables – the Professor Desk (PK52), and the Student Desk (PK52A) – are highly versatile, serving as desks, dining tables, or simply as attractive worktables in a studio or office. They are also at home in hotel rooms, retail environments and concept spaces due to their simple and modern elements.
Renowned for his mastery of glass, leather and steel, Poul Kjærholm designed the tables for lecturers and students when he was working at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in the mid ‘50s.The designs, which have a clean, light expression, helped establish the talented furniture designer, who went on to become a pioneer of Danish functionalism.
“The tables have an almost neutral expression and live up to all the virtues Hans J. Wegner, Ole Wanscher and Kaare Klint stood for – and which still so brilliantly match modern interiors. Although Poul Kjærholm followed a purely functionalist approach in his designs, there is an affinity with the other design masters we represent,” notes Carl Hansen & Son’s CEO, Knud Erik Hansen.
“The unique tables tell us something about Poul Kjærholm’s development. He was not afraid to challenge his established colleagues and pave his own path. He was a talented cabinetmaker, but also adopted new materials such as steel, leather, flag halyard and canvas. He achieved a new lightness by combining wood and steel – a pairing that was not very common in his day, and which he succeeded in using in his own unique, simple and beautiful way,” adds Knud Erik Hansen. He is delighted that Carl Hansen & Son now has the opportunity to add Poul Kjærholm’s elegant furniture items to the collection, “especially since Poul Kjærholm’s quality and functionality demands fit perfectly with Carl Hansen & Son values,” adds Knud Erik Hansen.
Poul Kjærholm’s two children, Krestine and Thomas Kjærholm, are pleased that the designs will now reach a wider audience – also internationally. “It makes sense that some of our father’s few furniture items integrating wood would find their way into the collection of Carl Hansen & Son, which has specialised in this material since 1908,” the family notes.
Both tables are available with Oregon pine or oak veneer tabletops, with an oiled, lacquered or black-painted surface, and a black- or gray-lacquered steel frame. The optional drawer is available in oiled, lacquered or black-painted oak. The Professor Desk (PK52) is 72 cm high, 186.5 cm long and 85 cm deep. The Student Desk (PK52A) is 72 cm high, 141.5 cm long and 85 cm deep.
The table series will be available at designFARM from November 2016.