Known for his clean lines and superb craftsmanship, architect and furniture designer Kaare Klint (1888-1954) is often called ‘the father of modern Danish furniture design’. Classic Klint creations include the 1915 ‘Faaborg’ chair as well as the reception room of the Danish Pavilion at the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition. Now two of his sought-after designs are available to purchase once again thanks to Danish furniture specialist Carl Hansen & Søn.
Kaare Klint furniture designs revived
With a catalogue already including Klint’s ‘Faaborg’ and ‘Safari’ chairs, as well as some of his side tables and ottomans, the leading Copenhagen-based brand continues to celebrate the designer’s work with the reissue of both his ‘English’ chair (1931) and ‘Spherical’ bed (1938), two extremely detailed designs that require the talents of experienced cabinetmakers.
The newly reissued pieces of furniture are made by Carl Hansen & Søn’s team of expert woodworkers, based at The Lab, the company’s in-house apprentice workshop located at its furniture factory on the island of Funen in central Denmark. Requiring the use of hand-held templates, traditional band saw, spokeshave and moulding items, the ‘English’ chair and ‘Spherical’ bed are some of the most time-consuming and complex designs in the collection.
‘Kaare Klint was an innovative architect whom we are fortunate to have in our collection,’ says Knud Erik Hansen, CEO and third-generation owner of Carl Hansen & Son. ‘His works are incredibly complex, which means that most of them do not lend themselves to serial production. However, we have a real desire to continue Klint's legacy, and therefore, the “English” chair and “Spherical” bed are obvious pieces for our apprenticeship workshop The Lab. Here, the apprentices get the opportunity to explore one of Danish design's biggest profiles, and to be trained in traditional cabinetmaking while keeping Klint's legacy alive.’
First presented at the Cabinetmakers' Autumn Exhibition in Copenhagen in 1931, the ‘English’ chair takes inspiration from 18th-century English chairs and features contrasting wood elements in oak, mahogany and rosewood, as well as a French canework seat that requires almost a week’s work to complete.
Meanwhile the ‘Spherical’ bed, launched at the same exhibition in 1938, is a geometric design with rounded edges creating the outline of a 2.3m sphere – a highly impressive feat of mathematics and woodworking for the time. Originally a single bed, it is now available as a double bed, its high head and footboards creating a well-defined space in any room. All the wood for the frame comes from the same tree trunk to create a uniform look, highlighting the beautiful grain. Its production is just as time-consuming as for the chair: it takes an entire month just to make one bed.
The son of Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint, the architect of Copenhagen’s stunning Grundtvig’s Church, Kaare Klint helped establish the Department of Furniture Design at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, where, working as a professor, he inspired some of the greatest Danish furniture designers and architects – including Hans J Wegner, Arne Jacobsen and Poul Kjærholm. These two reissues allow us once again to admire his astute sense of proportion and functional design, and celebrate the Danish tradition of excellent craftsmanship.
