Steel’s constructive potential is not the only thing that interests me; the refraction of light on its surface is an important part of my artistic work. I consider steel a material with the same artistic merit as wood and leather.
Poul Kjærholm
Jim Elkind, founder Lost City Arts—of one of the most influential design galleries in New York City—has design in his DNA. Elkind grew up in a modernist house full of mid-century modern furniture and spent many weekends traveling into New York with his mother, visiting museums and exploring the city. He fondly recalls her pointing up at the skyscrapers and their architectural details, encouraging and instilling in him a curiosity about his surroundings and an attention to detail that would go on to shape his future career.
The idea to open a gallery originally came to Elkind during a visit to the annual juried art show at University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he attended college. The vetted show featured several hundred artists, many of whom, he realized, were extremely talented but would never make it into the mainstream art world. Taking a page from his entrepreneur father’s book, Elkind imagined opening a gallery in New York called the Gallery of the Unknown Artist where he would feature work by up-and-coming artists from universities around the country.
Poul Kjaerholm 1929–1980
Danish modern designer Poul Kjærholm was born in 1929 in Østervrå in the north of Denmark. He studied cabinetmaking before matriculating at the Danish School of Arts and Crafts in Copenhagen to learn furniture design. Kjærholm graduated in 1952 and the following year he married his wife Hanne, who went on to become an accomplished architect.
Starting in the mid-1950s, Kjærholm was employed by Ejvind Kold Christensen, who allowed Kjærholm to experiment widely with minimalist forms and industrial materials. In particular, Kjærholm drew stylistic inspiration from designers such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Gerrit Rietveld, and Charles and Ray Eames. To elaborate a bold new vision for mid-century Danish design, Kjærholm endeavored to move away from the rounded, fuller shapes that many had come to expect. Similar to Kaare Klint, Kjærholm wanted to reduce design to its essentials and achieve purity of concept.
Kjærholm attracted early attention with his PK 0 plywood furniture series and his PK 61 coffee table with its sleek steel frame and square top. He began teaching at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen in 1955, focusing on functionalist furniture instruction. In 1956, Kjærholm debuted his iconic PK 22 lounge chair for E. Kold Christensen to match the PK 61 coffee table. The PK 22 was almost universally acclaimed and won the Grand Prize at the Milan Triennale in 1957 as well as the Lunning Award at the Formes Scandinaves exhibition in Paris in 1958.
In 1957, Kjærholm introduced his low-profile PK 80 daybed and three-leg PK 11 dining chair. He released his PK 33 tripod stool in 1959. Kjærholm's style evolved in the 1960s to favor more fluid lines as typified in 1965's hammock-style PK 24 chaise lounge made from steel and woven cane. Kjærholm won the Danish ID Prize for product design in 1967, the year he fashioned his PK 20 rocking chair.
Kjærholm joined the faculty of the Institut for Design in 1973, teaching until his death in 1980. While E. Kold Christensen manufactured Kjærholm’s furniture during his lifetime, Fritz Hansen took over production starting in 1982 and still retails contemporary versions of the most famous lines. In 2004, Kjærholm’s son set up Kjærholm Productions to supplement the market with designs that Fritz Hansen had discontinued. The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, Denmark held a Kjærholm retrospective in 2006 and today his designs are on view at various institutions throughout Scandinavia, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
Upcoming Lots Poul Kjaerholm
Auction Results Poul Kjaerholm
