Kai Kristiansen Chair
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Kai Kristiansen Chair
About the Item
- Creator:Kai Kristiansen (Designer)
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 30 in (76.2 cm)Width: 20 in (50.8 cm)Depth: 19 in (48.26 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Bastrop, TX
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU5807227019452
Kai Kristiansen
With a passion for math and engineering, Kai Kristiansen has created high-quality wood furniture for decades. Beginning in the 1950s, his chairs, modular shelving and other furnishings were made in the style that would become internationally renowned as Danish modern and boasted clean lines, perfected functionality and exacting craftsmanship.
Born in Denmark, Kristiansen trained in cabinetmaking before studying with Kaare Klint, often cited as the “father of modern Danish design,” at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. At just 26 years old, Kristiansen opened his own studio.
Kristiansen had his mid-century breakthrough in 1956 with the Chair #42, which he made with Schou Andersen. Unlike most other chairs at the time, Chair #42’s armrests, with their wealth of radical angles, were connected to the back rather than the front legs. This unconventional flourish makes the backrest appear as though it is floating in midair above the seat.
Kristiansen’s next innovation was a modular wall system in 1957 — three years ahead of Dieter Rams’s more famous 606 Universal Shelving System. Called the Reolsystem Wall Unit, produced by SB Feldballes Møbelfabrik, it’s also known as the FM Wall Unit as FM/Fornem Møbelkunst began producing it in the 1960s.
Kristiansen would go on to work with other leading Danish furniture manufacturers such as Magnus Olesen, Fritz Hansen and Vildbjerg Møbelfabrik, designing everything from chairs and desks to sideboards and cabinets, frequently in rosewood and teak. (The latter was a sought-after wood by Scandinavian modern designers.)
While many of Kristiansen’s timeless designs remain in production, such as his Paper Knife sofa, which was reintroduced by Miyazaki Chair Factory in 2008, and his 1950s Entré collection, which was relaunched with Great Dane Furniture in 2016, others are prized as vintage mid-century pieces.
Today, Kristiansen is still at work on new furniture with an expert eye to thoughtfully functional designs that are made to last.
Find a collection of vintage Kai Kristiansen furniture on 1stDibs.
- Kai Kristiansen Mauve Pink Curved Back Chair, 1960sBy Kai KristiansenLocated in New York, NYBeautiful midcentury chair, Kai Kristiansen’s iconic curved back chair Silhouette. Teak frame, seat reupholstered with mauve pink velvet and curved back reupholstered in a coordinati...Category
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$940 Sale Price / item20% Off - 4 Chairs Model 42 by Kai KristiansenBy Kai KristiansenLocated in PARIS, FRDelicacy and elegance is what best characterizes Kristiansen's modernist design. In 1956, he designed his most famous product, the No. 42 chair for Schou Andersen. The elegantly curv...Category
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$7,031 / set - Kai Kristiansen Set of 4 "Universe 301" Dining Chairs, 1960, DenmarkBy Magnus Olesen, Kai KristiansenLocated in The Hague, NLMid-Century Modern set of 4 model "universe 301" dining chairs Made in Denmark, 1965. Designed by Kai Kristiansen for Magnus Olesen (marked on bottom of each chair). Seats are newl...Category
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- Kai Kristiansen Ivory Tweed Curved Back Teak Chair, Danish, 1960sBy Kai KristiansenLocated in New York, NYBeautiful midcentury chair, Kai Kristiansen’s iconic curved back chair Silhouette. Teak frame, seat and curved back reupholstered with ivory tweed. Structurally sound, in good vintag...Category
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$940 Sale Price / item20% Off - Four Restored Kai Kristiansen Teak Dining Chairs Custom Reupholstery IncludedBy Kai KristiansenLocated in Knebel, DKSet of 4 1960s teak dining chairs by Kai Kristiansen The chairs have Kai Kristiansens typical straight lines and crooked angles that gives the chairs life and personality. The chai...Category
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- Twelve Restored Kai Kristiansen Teak Dining Chairs Custom Reupholstery IncludedBy Schou Andersen Møbelfabrik, Kai KristiansenLocated in Knebel, DKSet of twelve fully restored, 1960s teak dining chairs by Kai Kristiansen for Schous Møbelfabrik. The chairs have Kai Kristiansens typical light and elegant design that make them fit in easily where you want them in your home - a design that was so uniqe that his colleague the famous designer Hans J. Wegner characterized model 42 as beautiful from all angles when the chair with it´s unique backrest swivel function was revealed in 1956. The chairs are in very good condition as they have been fully restored, sanded by hand and refinished by our experienced workshop to insure that they are in very good condition with only minimal signs of age and use and will be reupholstered without additional cost in fabric of your choice from a wide list of fabrics from "Kvadrat" / "Romo" or leathers from "Sorensen Leather" / "Camo Leather". We are shipping our pieces to most of the world on regular basis at costefficient shipping quotes - so feel free to ask for a shipping quote for your destination. Kai Kristiansen was one of the last pupils of the famous architect Kaare Klint who founded modern Danish design and laid the foundation for the "Danish Modern" style. During the years 1958-78 Kristiansen worked in his business in Aarhus owned jointly by himself and furniture maker Illum Wikkelsø (1919-99). Kristiansens works met their most intense demand during a few decades from 1950, then production of them was discontinued. However, several of them are now being produced again by the Japanese furniture producer Miyazaki Chair Mill in Tokushima. An Australien producer has also included Kristiansen production in their portfolio. Kai Kristiansen might have been the originator of mass produced furniture, had he accepted an offer from Ikea-founder Ingvar Kamprad. He declined to let himself enroll in the Ikea staff. Kristiansen exhibitions include numerous participations in furniture and design shows in Milano, Paris, Cologne and London. Among his most cherished works is the Paper Knife collection...Category
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