Chaise longue Grasshopper, model FK-87

Jørgen Kastholm and Preben Fabricius, Lange production

JORGEN KASTHOLM (Denmark, 1931 – 2007) and PREBEN FABRICIUS (Denmark, 1931 – 1984) for Lange production. Chaise longue Grasshopper, model FK-87, design of 1967. Chromed steel, canvas fabric, loose cushions and neck cushions upholstered in black aniline leather. Leather braided armrests. Patina and small signs of use. Manufactured by Lange production.. This design was created by designers Preben Fabricius and Jørgen Kastholm, consisting of a lightweight chrome-plated steel structure, whose shape resembles a grasshopper, and a tensioned fabric that serves as a support for the loose cushion on it, as well as a dyed leather headrest. Its sober, light and elegant design, with simple lines, results in a timeless product that also captures the genuine spirit of the era. It is a piece of furniture that brings together design, quality of materials and functionality in a single object. The Danish architect and designer Jørgen Kastholm began his training as a blacksmith, but soon left it to dedicate himself to furniture design. He attended the Copenhagen School of Interior Design, where Finn Juhl was his teacher. There he also met the cabinetmaker Preben Fabricius, who would later become his partner. Both shared a common vision about furniture design, based on minimalism and quality and inspired by the creations of Charles Eames and Mies van der Rohe. Their search tried to achieve an ideal that, due to its simplicity, would be timeless. In 1961 they created a studio together in Gentofte, and four years later they would present their first designs at the Federicia furniture fair, where they caught the attention of the German furniture manufacturer Alfred Kill. He offered them a succulent contract that allowed them to work with total freedom, so Kastholm and Fabricius moved to Stuttgart with their first designs to begin production at the Kill factory. Shortly after, they made the international leap thanks to the 1966 Cologne fair, where they showed a complete series of domestic and office furniture, developed from ten of their original designs. Their minimalist creations, both attractive and comfortable, were generally steel and leather furniture. Both creators worked together between 1961 and 1968, a seven-year period in which they produced numerous designs now considered classics, such as the Tulip Chair FK 6725, the Grasshopper FK 87 or the Scimitar. Also during this period, their furniture was part of important international exhibitions, held in prominent centers such as the MOMA in New York (1967) or the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris (1967). Currently, 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 Museum of Art in Brasilia, 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 Kunststofmuseum in Dusseldorf, the World Import Mart Museum and the History + Folkways Museum in Japan and the Museum für Angewandte Kunstgeschichte in Cologne