Poul Kjærholm
Poul Kjaerholm (1929-1980)
This Danish furniture designer originally trained as a cabinet maker before attending the Copenhagen School of Arts and Crafts in 1952. There his talent was nurtured by Jørgen Utzon (architect the ‘Sydney Opera House’) and in partnership with Ejvind Kold Christiansen he went on to design the PK22 chair in 1958.
Like many of the contemporary American modernists such as Charles Eames, Kjærholm maintained close links with academia. In 1959 he began working for the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen and would eventually be made professor at its Institute of Design in 1976.
However, unlike many Scandinavian designers, Kjærholm's favoured medium was steel (always matt), rather than wood as one might have expected given his background. He did however, use leather, wood, and particularly cane for his coverings.
