Modern Art & Design Presents Carl Bergsten
Bukowskis presents two iconic café chairs designed by architect Carl Bergsten for Strömsholmen's restaurant in Norrköping in 1906, at this season’s live auction Modern Art & Design.
The significance of architect and furniture designer Carl Bergsten for the development of modern architecture and furniture design in Sweden during the early 20th century cannot be overstated. Several of his commissions, such as the Exhibition of Art and Industry in Norrköping in 1906, the Swedish pavilion at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1925, and the interior of the M/S Kungsholm in 1928, have had a decisive impact on the development of Swedish architecture and design. For the Exhibition of Art and Industry in his hometown of Norrköping in 1906, Bergsten, then 25 years old, was appointed chief architect. In the years prior, Bergsten had met architect Josef Hoffmann in Vienna during a study trip in Europe and was inspired by him, his work with the Wiener Werkstätte, and by his colleagues active in the progressive Vienna Secession. Bergsten brought these impressions back to Sweden and in 1906 executed one of the largest modern manifestations in Swedish history.
For the café in Strömsholmen's restaurant, built in connection with the exhibition, Bergsten designed, among other things, the present chair, which with its strict geometric forms and technical innovations came to write Swedish design history. Bergsten's innovative design required a manufacturer, which Bergsten found with Gemla Leksaksfabrik in Diö. The then-new bentwood technique that had inspired him during his meeting with Josef Hoffmann in Vienna required an ambitious producer. Together with Gemla, they experimented with materials and techniques to produce the first bentwood furniture in Sweden. Strömsholmen’s restaurant became a centre for Norrköping's nightlife until the building was destroyed in a large fire in June 1939.
After the exhibition in 1906, most of the buildings were demolished, but the hunting lodge designed by Bergsten from the exhibition was moved to an island in Bråviken just outside Norrköping. To this hunting lodge, eight of the few remaining chairs from Strömsholmen's restaurant were also brought. The set was sold at auction in 2000, and the present chairs are two of the eight chairs that were part of the set. Few chair models have been given such an important and indisputable place in Swedish design history as Bergsten's café chairs, and the present sale offers a rare opportunity to acquire two of the few surviving chairs.
The chairs are being sold at Modern Art & Design
Catalogue online November 4
Viewing November 12–17, Berzelii Park 1, Stockholm
Live auction November 18–19, Arsenalsgatan 2, Stockholm
Read more about Modern Art & Design
Carl Bergsten at Modern Art & Design
Lähtöhinta
200 000 - 250 000 SEK
Requests & condition reports
Tukholma
Camilla Behrer
Johtaja, Design and Moderni taidekäsityö
+46 (0)708 92 19 77
Tukholma
Eva Seeman
Johtava asiantuntija, moderni ja nykyaikainen taidekäsityö & design
+46 (0)708 92 19 69
Tukholma
Karl Green
Specialist Modern an Contemporary Decorative Art & Design
+46 (0)700 07 94 25