Poul Kjærholm (1929-1980) was one of Denmark’s most famous designers. 1952 saw Paul graduate from the Copenhagen Academy of Arts and Crafts to study furniture making, and he taught from 1952 to 1956. Designers often chose wood as their design material in those days, but Paul preferred stainless steel. He saw stainless steel as a promising structural material for his furniture designs. He also tried to use it in combination with many other materials such as leather, canvas, rope, and rattan. And he always used his initials plus a number to name his designs.
Poul Kierholm’s design style is understated and elegant, with a gentle approach to clean lines and refined design details. He was awarded two prizes for industrial design and graphic design at the Milan Art Fair in 1957 and 1960, respectively.
His best-known chair, named PK-22, is full of structural beauty, with a wicker or leather seat, and is modularized to make it less challenging to produce, reflecting a fully component-based design mindset.
The PK 24 LOUNGE CHAIR is inspired by the French recliners of the Rococo era, which have the same curves and dimensions. The chair is a prime example, almost an extreme example, of Kjærholm’s design principle of having separate elements. The pk 24 lounge chair, therefore, has no physical connection between the main parts but instead holds them together by gravity and friction between the components. It is an important symbol of minimalism.