Jørgen Kastholm and Preben Fabricius, Grasshopper for Lange Production

JORGEN KASTHOLM (Denmark, 1931–2007) and PREBEN FABRICIUS (Denmark, 1931–1984) for LANGE PRODUCTION.
“Grasshopper” Chaise Longue, Model FK-87, designed in 1967.
Chrome-plated steel, canvas fabric, loose cushions, and a neck pillow upholstered in black aniline leather.
Armrests lined with harness leather cords.
Lange Production Editor.
Brand new,
Delivered in its original packaging. Includes photos of the model.
Measurements: 81 x 150 cm.

The FK 87 Grasshopper Chaise Longue, designed by Preben Fabricius and Jørgen Kastholm in the 1960s, is one of the most iconic pieces of Scandinavian design due to its elegant combination of minimalism and comfort. Its chrome-plated tubular steel frame supports a seat made of taut canvas, atop which rest a large cushion and a headrest—usually upholstered in leather—while the armrests are crafted from braided leather cord. The visual lightness of its silhouette, inspired by the shape of a grasshopper—hence its name— and the balance between technical precision and the quality of the materials have made it an icon of 20th-century modern furniture, highly prized both in its original versions produced by Alfred Kill International and in the current reissues by Lange Production.

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 he studied under Finn Juhl. It was there that he met cabinetmaker Preben Fabricius, who would later become his partner. The two shared a common vision of furniture design, rooted in minimalism and quality and inspired by the works 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 the 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. Their minimalist creations—both attractive and comfortable—were generally made of steel and leather. 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 Staatsgemäldesammlung Bayer in the same city, 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.