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Six Axel Einar Hjorth “Utö” Dining Chairs with “Lovö” Table, Sweden 1930s

Creator: Axel Einar Hjorth
Offered by: H. Gallery

Description
Swedish architect and furniture designer Axel Einar Hjorth served as the lead designer for Sweden’s Nordiska Kompaniet department store from 1926 to 1938. During this time, Hjorth designed the “Sportstugemöbler” series, (which translates to “sports cabin furnishings”) a collection of wooden furniture designed for country homes. The various models in the sportstugemöbler series took their names from the Stockholm archipelago – including Blidö, Lovö, and famously, Utö.

These six Utö dining chairs and Lovö table were designed in the 1930s as part of the collection. Unlike the department store's interiors for floors and villas in the cities, the Utö and Lovö designs had a simple character with robust and simple basic shapes in solid pine. Accordingly, the design of these chairs focuses on simple lines and the material itself. Made of pine wood, these chairs are strong, reflecting Hjorth’s principles, according to which he mixed the ideals of the modernist movement with provincial Swedish traditions, producing a unique and primitive modernism. As a result, the design of this set has a completely unique and headstrong primitive modernism.

Each chair demonstrates a conscious construction aesthetic, where the joinery and fittings related to traditional craftsmanship are emphasized. Dominated by rounded, straight lines, the chairs have spindle backrests and ergonomically carved seats. The design eludes harmony and stability, fitting the government’s summer cabin concept perfectly. Meanwhile, this pine Lovö table has a central stretcher, joining the two trestle ends with mortice and tenon joints. These joinery techniques are another typical feature of Hjorth that contribute to the innate aesthetic of his models. With his highly original strand of Primitive modernism, Hjorth was able to combine a farmhouse simplicity with a functional, modernist idiom.

The models in the famous “Sportstugemöbler” series are regarded by many as Swedish Modernist, Axel Einar Hjorth’s masterpieces. Hjorth's aesthetic alludes to both the traditional simplicity of the common people and the radical aesthetics of international modernism. The ‘sports cottage furniture’ that these dining chairs and table are part of, also had an influence on the designer’s contemporaries and inspired Carl Malmsten among others. In an international perspective, Hjorth's sportstugemöbler series is the forerunner of later pioneering designers such as Charlotte Perriand. It is therefore no surprise that the pieces of this set became part of Swedish and international modernist design history.

Condition:
In good vintage condition. Wear consistent with age and use. Some minor scratches on the wood.

Dimensions:
Chairs:
18.11 in W x 16.92 in D x 31.49 in H; Seat height 16.92 in
46 cm W x 43 cm D x 80 cm H; Seat height 43 cm

Table:
70.86 in W x 29.33 in D x 28.34 in H
180 cm W x 74.5 cm D x 72 cm H

About the designer:
Axel Einar Hjorth was born March 7, 1888 in Krokek outside Norrköping. From 1908, he studied in Stockholm at the Högre Konstindustriella Skolan (University of Arts, Crafts and Design, later to be "Konstfack"). His career in furniture design started around 1920, when Hjorth started working at Nordiska Kompaniet under the architect and designer Carl Bergsten.

Hjorth worked as the head of the assembly section of Jubileumsutställningen (the Jubilee Exhibition) in Gothenburg in 1923. The English critic P. Morton Shand has characterized this exhibition as the beginning of the breakthrough of Swedish decorative arts. "The Gothenburg Exhibition of 1923 revealed [...] that [Sweden was] almost the only one that really counted as far as design and craftsmanship were concerned."

For more than 10 years, from October 1927, Axel Einar Hjorth acted as the chief designer/architect at Nordiska Kompaniet. During the years between the wars, Nordiska Kompaniet was one of the most important furniture producers in Sweden and, above all, the most exclusive one. Nordiska Kompaniet and Axel Einar Hjorth took part in most of the important national as well as international exhibitions of that time.

The position as chief architect at Nordiska Kompaniet also meant that he received quite a few commissions to create interiors, although the company had a separate department for this purpose. Among the most striking commissions performed by Axel Einar Hjorth were the railway trains of the Shah of Persia and Nordiska Kompaniet's Paris shop. Axel Einar Hjorth left Nordiska Kompaniet in order to start his own business in February 1938.

Hjorth’s work, that often times mixed Art Deco and Modernist influences, remains highly relevant even sixty years after his death. ~H.

Shipping:
These dining chairs and table will be packed and shipped with the greatest care to make sure you will receive the item in the gallery condition. Complimentary shipping within the Netherlands.

More Information

Documentation:	Documented elsewhere (similar item)
Origin:	Sweden
Period:	1920-1949
Materials:	Wood
Condition:	Good. In good vintage condition. Wear consistent with age and use. Some minor scratches on the wood.
Creation Date:	1930s
Number of Pieces:	6-7
Styles / Movements:	Modern, Mid Century, Scandinavian Modern
Dealer Reference #:	20180152 + 20200518
Incollect Reference #:	474120

Dimensions

W.	70.87 in;	H.	29.33 in;	D.	28.35 in;
W.	180 cm;	H.	74.5 cm;	D.	72 cm;

Message from Seller:

Located in Utrecht, The Netherlands, H. Gallery specializes in modern and contemporary design with a strong focus on Brazil and Scandinavia. The gallery strives to preserve and promote especially Brazil's rich design heritage and curates a select group of contemporary artists. Meticulous research, ie getting in contact with the original designers, producers, their heirs, and retrieving and indexing old catalogues and magazines is at the heart of its activities. All works presented excel in great

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