Poul Kjærholm

Poul Kjærholm (1929–1980) was a Danish furniture designer celebrated for his refined minimalist aesthetic, deep respect for materials, and meticulous attention to craftsmanship. He is considered one of the leading figures of 20th-century Scandinavian design, especially known for his innovative use of industrial materials such as steel, glass, and leather in furniture.

Born in Øster Vrå, Denmark, Kjærholm trained as a cabinetmaker in Hjørring in 1948 before studying at the School of Arts and Crafts in Copenhagen (now the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts) under the mentorship of architect and furniture designer Hans J. Wegner. Unlike many of his contemporaries who favored wood, Kjærholm gravitated towards steel as a structural and aesthetic material, treating it with the same artistic and material sensitivity traditionally afforded to wood.

Kjærholm began working for the manufacturer E. Kold Christensen in the 1950s, with whom he had a long-standing collaboration. Many of his most iconic designs stem from this period, marked by elegance, structural clarity, and a rigorous modernist logic. Some of his most celebrated designs include:

• PK22 Chair (1956) – a low lounge chair with a steel frame and woven cane or leather seat. It became one of his most commercially and critically successful works.
• PK61 Coffee Table (1955) – an exercise in pure geometric composition, with a steel base and glass or stone top.
• PK80 Daybed (1957) – inspired by classical Roman furniture, it combines leather upholstery with a flat steel frame.
• PK24 Chaise Longue (1965) – known as the “Hammock Chair,” it is a sculptural form of steel and leather.
• PK31 Series – armchairs and sofas combining soft leather volumes with precise steel structures.

In 1955, Kjærholm became a lecturer at the School of Arts and Crafts and was later appointed Professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1976, a position previously held by Kaare Klint. Through his teaching, he influenced a new generation of Danish designers and architects, further embedding functionalist principles in the national design culture.

Kjærholm received several prestigious international awards, including:

• Lunning Prize (1958) – a major Scandinavian design award
• Grand Prize at the Milan Triennale (1957, 1960) – for his furniture designs
• ID Prize by the Danish Society of Industrial Design (1967)

His works were exhibited internationally and became part of key museum collections, including:

• Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York
• Victoria and Albert Museum, London
• Designmuseum Danmark, Copenhagen

After Kjærholm’s death in 1980, Fritz Hansen acquired the rights to manufacture most of his designs, helping to ensure their continued availability and preservation. His widow, Hanne Kjærholm, a prominent architect, played a significant role in documenting and archiving his work.

Kjærholm’s approach combined the rigors of architectural thinking with sculptural beauty. He saw furniture as a form of spatial intervention—pieces meant to interact gracefully with the environment and the human body. His restrained material palette, architectural clarity, and pursuit of perfection have made his work central to both design history and contemporary interiors.