Poul Kjaerholm, PK-22 Armchair for Fritz Hansen

POUL KJÆRHOLM (Denmark, 1929–1980) for FRITZ HANSEN.
PK-22 lounge chair in Satin-brushed Spring steel frame, upholstered in original cognac leather. Designed in 1956.
Some signs of wear considering the age.
Produced by Fritz Hansen, in 2005, with stamp in steel frame.
Measurements: 71 x 63 x 63 cm. Seat high 35.

Poul Kjærholm’s PK22 armchair, designed in 1956, embodies an approach to furniture design based on proportion, lightness, and minimalism. Its steel frame creates an open profile that highlights the seat and backrest, with a clear separation between the support structure and the seating surface. Its relevance to 21st-century design lies in this economy of means and in the use of metal as an expressive material—qualities that allow it to be linked to the current pursuit of visually light furniture with a clear, legible construction. It is a design whose simplicity continues to serve as a benchmark for contemporary interiors.

Poul Kjærholm was a Danish designer trained at the Danish School of Arts and Crafts in Copenhagen, where he enrolled in 1952 after beginning his apprenticeship with the cabinetmaker Gronbech in 1948. From the mid-1950s onward, he worked for his friend Ejvind Kold Christiansen, a businessman who always granted him complete creative freedom. His distinctive personality is already evident in his earliest creations, such as his PKO series of plywood furniture. In 1958, he attracted international attention thanks to his contribution to the “Formes Scandinaves” exhibition held in Paris, and that same year he won the Lunning Prize for his PK 22 chair. In 1957 and 1960, he was awarded the Grand Prize at the Milan Triennale, and in 1959 he was elected to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. In 1973, he was appointed director of the Danish Design Institute, where he taught beginning in 1976. Today, his designs are held in prominent design collections, including those of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the MOMA in New York.