Danish Mid Century Modern Daybed by Grete Jalk for Bovirke

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About the Item

Clean and elegant daybed by Grete Juel Jalk (Denmark, 1920–2006) for Bovirke Furniture Denmark. Designed and manufactured in Copenhagen, Denmark. Includes a reproduction cushion in the original style. Grete Juel Jalk (1920–2006) was a Danish furniture designer. From the 1960s, she did much to enhance Denmark's reputation for modern furniture design with her clear, comfortable lines. She also edited the Danish magazine Mobilia and compiled a four-volume work on Danish furniture. n 1953, Jalk opened her own design studio. Inspired by Alvar Aalto's laminated bent-plywood furniture and Charles Eames' moulded plywood designs, she began to develop her own boldly curved models. General interest in her unconventional models grew only slowly although they were sought after for exhibitions and collections. In 1963, the English newspaper Daily Mail launched a competition for a chair for a man and a chair for a woman. Despite the fact that Jalk won first prize with two different laminated armchairs, the He Chair and the She Chair, they never really came into production. Her associate, cabinetmaker and furniture manufacturer Poul Jeppesen, had made some prototypes but they were burnt in a fire, bringing the project to an end. In 2008, however, Lange Production began industrial production of the She Chair. This was not Jalk’s last collaboration with Jeppesen, she built upon her work in laminated plywood furniture with the creation of the side chair of 1962. Side by side with these rather advanced experiments, Jalk developed many simple sets of furniture for manufacturers, including a high desk and stool, a set of shelves in Oregon pine and a series of chairs with upholstered seats and backs on a curved steel base. Her industrially produced furniture has clear, comfortable lines. The pieces are especially well suited for quick, straightforward production schedules. Economic in their use of materials, they soon became competitive, increasing Denmark's international reputation for furniture design. Firms in the United States and Finland have manufactured some of her lines. The designs she developed for modern homes included a wall-mounted storage system (1961), a living-room set with a coffee table (1962), a "Watch and Listen" unit (1963) with compartments for a home entertainment system to house a stero system, TV, records, tapes and speakers. A 1960s rosewood three-piece suite made EUR 6,500 and Renato Zevi’s chrome rocking chair went for EUR 1,100, double its upper estimate. Best known for her furniture design, including laminated plywood furniture for manufacturer Jeppesen, such as the side chair of 1962, and tubular steel furniture for manufacturer Fritz Henses, such as the easy chair of 1964. In 1963, Jalk designed a moulded teak chair that used two pieces of plywood bent into almost impossible forms. The chair was manufactured for Poul Jeppesen, a company that would help Scandinavia become renowned for fine modern furniture.

Creator:
Grete Jalk (Designer),Bovirke (Manufacturer)
Dimensions:
Height: 15 in (38.1 cm)Width: 74.5 in (189.23 cm)Depth: 28.5 in (72.39 cm)Seat Height: 15 in (38.1 cm)
Style:
Modern (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Cotton,Oak
Place of Origin:
Denmark
Period:
Mid-20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1960
Condition:
Reupholstered. Repaired: Minor crack to one cross slate repaired. Newer cushion. Wear consistent with age and use. Minor structural damages. One slat was cracked and has been repaired. Mattress is not original.
Seller Location:
Soquel, CA
Reference Number:
Seller: DBH54561stDibs: LU1215227073062

Shop All Grete Jalk

Grete Jalk

What would the reputation of mid-century Danish furniture be without legendary female designer Grete Jalk? A pioneer of Scandinavian modernism, Jalk sought to craft furniture that was both cost-efficient and high in quality, each piece made for the evolving interiors and design sensibilities of the day. She continues to be celebrated for her sleek and minimal armchairs, lounge chairs, coffee tables and more.

Jalk was born in 1920 in Copenhagen. She studied at the Drawing and Applied Art School for Women before enrolling at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, where famed designer Kaare Klint was among her instructors. Jalk completed her studies in 1946 and began a cabinetmaker apprenticeship. That same year, she won an award at the Copenhagen Cabinetmakers’ Guild competition. Jalk also participated in the 1951 Milan Triennial exhibition, where her designs earned more acclaim and attention.

In 1954, Jalk opened her own design studio and began working with major Danish furniture manufacturers like Fritz Hansen and Glostrup Møbelfabrik. She found inspiration in plywood experiments carried out by Alvar Aalto and Ray and Charles Eames, and she quickly became known for her pared-back, expressive designs, which touted fluid forms and were made of alluring woods such as teak and rosewood.

Jalk’s best-known work is the 1963 GJ chair, a collaboration with cabinetmaker Poul Jeppesen that won first place in the Daily Mail International Furniture Competition. Made of two pieces of molded teak plywood, the sculptural GJ lounge chair is part of the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and Metropolitan Museum of Art.

While creating her iconic furniture designs, Jalk wore many other hats. She taught at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and served as an editor of the Danish design magazine Mobilia from 1956–62 and 1968–74. In 1974, Jalk curated a traveling design exhibition for the Danish Foreign Ministry and was named a member of the Danish Design Council in 1981. She was also the editor of 40 Years of Danish Furniture Design: The Copenhagen Cabinet-makers' Guild Exhibitions 1927–1966, published in 1987.

Jalk passed away in 2006 at the age of 86. In 2008, Danish furniture manufacturer Lange Production was granted exclusive rights to reproduce the GJ chair, a design as fresh and original today as ever.

On 1stDibs, find vintage Grete Jalk seating, tables and storage pieces.

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