Poul Kjærholm (1929–1980) is counted among the giants of modern Scandinavian furniture design. While mid-twentieth-century Scandinavian furniture is typically associated with the warmth of wood, Kjærholm’s designs were marked by…

Poul Kjærholm (1929–1980) is counted among the giants of modern Scandinavian furniture design. While mid-twentieth-century Scandinavian furniture is typically associated with the warmth of wood, Kjærholm’s designs were marked by highly disciplined forms shaped from hard stone and metal; his works harmonize well with Japanese architecture, which perhaps explains why he is so well embraced by connoisseurs in the country.

This book presents the collection of one such enthusiast, Noritsugu Oda, who specializes in chairs. Some fifty masterpieces along with a wealth of valuable design drawings and archival photographs trace Kjærholm’s career from his beginnings under the noted furniture designer Hans J. Wegner to his death at the age of fifty-one.

“The chair must have a natural shape in keeping with the material and the tools used for it, so that it is constructively evident,” Kjærholm once wrote. “The chair must excite an aesthetical pleasure.” The works of this self-styled “furniture architect” exhibit a consummate minimalism and beauty, and this definitive volume distills the quintessence of his aesthetic sophistication and design philosophy.