Preben Fabricius, Conversation sofa for Knoll

PREBEN FABRICIUS (Denmark, 1931 - 1984).
Conversation Sofa, model 710-2.
Chromed steel frame, loose cushions upholstered in black leather. Armrests with leather details.
Signs of wear and patina.
Produced by Walter Knoll, designed in 1972.
Measurements: 78 x 138 x 78 cm. Seat height 42 cm.

As a genuine classic, Fabricius tells the story of furniture. The "Conversation sofa" combines Scandinavian design tradition and functional aesthetics with the charm of casual seating comfort. Precise metal processing, superior surface quality: the armrest and support structure frame the sliding seat. The result is lightness and simplicity. Whether as a soloist or as a set, it was made for lounges, foyers and living rooms.

Danish architect and designer Jørgen Kastholm began his training as a blacksmith, but soon left to pursue furniture design. He attended the Copenhagen School of Interior Design, where he was taught by Finn Juhl. There he also met cabinetmaker Preben Fabricius, who would later become his partner. The two shared a common vision of furniture design, based on minimalism and quality and inspired by the creations of Charles Eames and Mies van der Rohe. Their quest was to achieve an ideal that, by its simplicity, would be timeless. In 1961 they set up a studio together in Gentofte, and four years later they presented their first designs at the Federicia furniture fair, where they attracted the attention of the German furniture manufacturer Alfred Kill. The latter offered them a lucrative contract that allowed them to work freely, so Kastholm and Fabricius moved to Stuttgart with their first designs to start production in Kill's factory. Shortly afterwards, they made the international breakthrough at the 1966 Cologne trade fair, where they exhibited a complete series of home and office furniture, developed from ten of their original designs. The two creators worked together between 1961 and 1968, a period of seven years in which they produced numerous designs that are now considered classics, such as the Tulip Chair FK 6725, the Grasshopper FK 87 and the Scimitar. Also during this period, their furniture was part of important international exhibitions, held in such prominent centers as the MOMA in New York (1967) or 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 Brasilia, the Design Center in Stuttgart, the Haus Industriform in Essen, the Neue Sammlung in Munich, the Staatsgemäldesammlung Bayer in Munich, the Kunstindustrimuseum in Berlin, the Kunststofmuseum in Düsseldorf, the World Import Mart Museum and the History + Folkways Museum in Japan and the Museum für Angewandte Kunstgeschichte in Cologne.