Otto Schulz

OTTO SCHULZ (Salzwedel, Germany, 1882 - Gothenburg, Sweden, 1970).
Armchair, 1940s.
Wood reupholstered in natural sheepskin.
Measurements: 80 x 64 x 62 cm.
Armchair of geometric design, based on rounded volumes, whose clean lines are enhanced by the elegance of the upholstery.
A prolific interior and furniture designer, Otto Schulz became a key figure in the promotion of Scandinavian mid-century modern design through the founding of the furniture publisher Boet. In the 1920s he published the influential eponymous magazine, also as a platform for his own collection, which featured interviews with renowned designers and architects. Schulz studied at the Charlottenburg Technical University from 1900 to 1907, and was a student of the Swedish-born professor Alfred Grenander from 1904 to 1907. In 1907 he obtained a diploma at the Kunstgewerbe Museum in Berlin, and in the same year he arrived in Gothenburg, where he worked as a draughtsman and with Selander & Söner. In 1917 he received the prestigious commission to furnish the Bräutigams Konditori. Throughout his career, Schulz produced opulent upholstered furniture, as well as decorative box furniture with luxurious inlays, always at the cutting edge of design and combining functionalism and traditionalism in equal measure. He has patented some of his own invented techniques, including the use of decorative nails as part of the design, called Bopoint.