Preben Fabricius, Conversation Chairs for Walter Knoll

PREBEN FABRICIUS (Denmark, 1931–1984) for WALTER KNOLL.
A Pair of Conversation chairs, model 710, dark chromed steel frame, loose cushions upholstered in black leather. Armrests with leather details. Interior upholstery with logo. Designed in 1972.
Small signs of wear and patina.
Produced by Walter Knoll.
Measurements: 78 x 73 x 78 cm. Seat height 42 cm.

As a true classic, Fabricius tells the story of furniture. The “Conversation Chair” combines the tradition of Scandinavian design and functional aesthetics with the charm of casual seating comfort. Precise metalwork and superior surface quality: the armrests and supporting frame encase the sliding seat. The result is lightness and simplicity. Whether as a standalone piece or as part of a set, it is designed for living rooms, entryways, and lounges.

Danish architect and designer Jørgen Kastholm began his training as a blacksmith but soon left that trade to devote himself to furniture design. He attended the Copenhagen School of Interior Design, where Finn Juhl was his teacher. It was there that he met cabinetmaker Preben Fabricius, who would later become his partner. Both shared a common vision of furniture design, rooted in minimalism and quality and inspired by the creations of Charles Eames and Mies van der Rohe. Their quest was to achieve an ideal that, through its simplicity, would be timeless. In 1961, they established a studio together in Gentofte, and four years later they presented their first designs at the Fredericia Furniture Fair, where they caught the attention of German furniture manufacturer Alfred Kill. Kill offered them a lucrative contract that allowed them to work with complete freedom, so Kastholm and Fabricius moved to Stuttgart with their first designs to begin production at Kill’s factory. Shortly thereafter, they made their international breakthrough at the 1966 Cologne Fair, where they showcased a complete series of home and office furniture, developed from ten of their original designs. The two designers worked together from 1961 to 1968, a seven-year period during which they produced numerous designs now considered classics, such as the Tulip Chair FK 6725, the Grasshopper FK 87, and the Scimitar. During this period, their furniture was also featured in major international exhibitions held at such prominent venues as the MOMA in New York (1967) and the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris (1967). Today, designs by Kastholm and Fabricius can be seen at the MACBA in Barcelona, the MoMA in New York, the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris, the Ringling Museum in Florida, the Art Museum of Brasília, the Design Center in Stuttgart, the Haus Industriform in Essen, the Neue Sammlung in Munich, the Bayer State Painting Collection in Munich, the Kunstindustrimuseum in Berlin, the Kunststoffmuseum in Düsseldorf, the World Import Mart Museum and the History + Folkways Museum in Japan, and the Museum für Angewandte Kunstgeschichte in Cologne.