POUL KJÆRHOLM

Modernist Designers
Written By Christine Lin

POUL KJÆRHOLM

 
 
 
 
 

This month’s modern designer hails from Denmark, a country famous for producing many of the biggest names in the Modernist movement.

Poul Kjærholm (1929-1980)
Denmark
Designer

 
Black and white portrait of Poul Kjærholm gazing off-camera to the left of the frame. There is ample negative space to the right of the frame.
 
 

Poul Kjærholm is most known for bringing the use of steel into modern design, but surprisingly, his career started as a carpenter’s apprentice. It wasn’t until the early 1950s that Kjærholm studied under renowned designer Hans Wegner and Jørn Utzon (an industrial designer) at Copenhagen’s School of Arts and Crafts.

In the years that followed, Kjærholm designed chairs and tables for E. Kold Christensen and Fritz Hansen, and he earned several design awards along the way. He once said that his design philosophy came, not from expressing his own personality, but from expressing the personality of the materials.

By combining natural materials like wood and leather with his characteristic touch of steel piping, he created some of the most innovative furniture designs of the era. The PK22 and PK24 lounge chair designs are his most famous.

 
 
 
Kjærholm's "PK22" lounge chair placed next to a glass square table with stainless steel legs. There are small white objects on the table. There is artwork hung on the wall and standing against the wall in the background.

PK22 lounge chair, 1960 (source)

 
 
Kjærholm's "PK24" lounge chair in back placed on a black rug. There are a stack of books and small wooden chest in the background with decorative items on top.

PK24 lounge chair (source)

 
 

In addition to furniture design, Kjærholm also spent many years teaching at his alma mater, the Royal Danish Academy of Arts, and the Design Institute. Nevertheless, he continued to design chairs until his death in 1980.

MORE MODERN DESIGNS FROM POUL KJÆRHOLM

Kjærholm's "PK9" chair in orange with stainless steel legs against a white background.

PK9 Chair (source)

 
Kjærholm's "PK61 Coffee Table" with a glass top and stainless steel legs. The image of the table is from the over head perspective.

PK61 Coffee Table in Steel and Glass E. Kold Christensen Denmark (source)

 
 
Kjærholm's "PK71 Nesting Tables" in black and stainless steel placed next to a two-seat sofa with a stainless steel base and leather cushions.

PK71 Nesting tables for E. Kold Christensen (source)

 
 
Kjærholm's "PK11" chair with a stainless steel frame with three legs. The seat is black leather and the back of the chair is made of a thin curved light-toned wood.

PK11 chair design for E. Kold Christensen, 1957 (source)

 
 
Kjærholm's "Holscher" chair with welded stainless steel tube frame in black.

“Holscher” chair with welded steel tube frame (source)

 
 
 
Christine Lin
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