919/​93

Bodil Kjær (b. Hatting 1932)

“Office Desk”. Freestanding Brazilian rosewood desk with steel runner frame. Top with four integrated drawers. Designed 1959. This example manufactured 1970s by E. Pedersen & Søn. H. 72.5 cm. W. 92 cm. L. 184 cm.

Part of the Office-2000 series, developed as elements of architecture, designed as an extension of Bodil Kjær's acclaimed “Office Desk”, which was created during her work for CI Designs, Boston, 1959. Literature: Peter Beck: “Det essentielle: Arkitekt Bodil Kjær om sine internationale arbejder 1950–2000” (The Essential: Architect Bodil Kjær on Her International Design 1950–2000). Here Bodil Kjær highlights the following in connection with the creation of the office desk: “I was designing the tabletop and decided that I didn’t want handles and keys in the usual manner. I wanted keys that one could use as handles. Once it was made, however, I found out that it did not work, because if you leaned in over the desk, the keys would hit you in the stomach! So, I pulled the drawer front inwards, and then I had my relief. I transferred this to all the modules: They were given a 3D facade. The fronts became three-dimensional, and I believe there were quite a few people who could relate to this. Back then, it was really in fashion to make everything very smooth, and this is still the case here in Denmark. It's terribly hard to make because it has to be so precise. Everything becomes more expensive because of it. That’s what you see in almost everything I do; that I push the edge against the surface. In terms of the construction, there is a difference in levels, so the frame becomes much more pronounced than you are used to. Then you get the dimensions. It is something that comes all by itself because of the chosen solution. This is something that happens in all creative processes. When you do something, something else happens that you are not the master of, but which you can then take with you.”

This lot is part of our ongoing theme: Pioneering Women Artists 1850-1950

Auction

Pioneering Women Artists, 4 March 2024

Category
Estimate

100,000–125,000 DKK

Sold

Price realised

70,000 DKK