60s Friso Kramer ‘Ariadne series’ chairs for Auping set/2

Dutch designer Friso Kramer was a driving force behind the post-war Dutch modernist design movement. He was born in 1922 as the son of an accomplished architect and studied interior architecture at the Institute of Applied Art in Amsterdam under director and architect Mart Stam (1899-1986). In 1948, Kramer began designing for the steel furniture manufacturer De Cirkel, a subsidiary of Ahrend, where he eventually became the Art Director (1971 to 1983). In the 1950s and 60s he also collaborated with Dutch bedding manufacturer Auping.

Kramer designed rational, minimalist furniture for the new age. Iconic designs from Kramer’s career include the Eames-inspired, steal and plywood Revolt Chair (1953), a true classic of midcentury Dutch industrial design and arguably Kramer’s most famous work; Straatlantaarn Streetlight (1960) for The Hague; Facet Table (1964); the ergonomic, modular MEHES office series (1972); AKD Chair (1973); and FKS Stackable Chair and Table (1998).