ERLING TORVITS (Denmark, 1925 - ?) for SORØ STOLEFABRIK.
Set of six chairs, ca. 1960.
Rosewood and leather upholstery.
Provenance: private collection conceived in the 1970s between London and Madrid.
Measurements: 78,5 x 49 x 49 cm.
Set of six chairs made of rosewood for the structure, with black leather upholstery. This design by Erling Tovits is characterised by the expressive contrast between the emphatic geometry and clean lines of the structure and the warm tone and beautiful grain of the wood in its natural state.
Arne Jacobsen, Finn Juhl and Hans Wegner were the giants of mid-century Danish furniture design, along with ten or twelve other prolific and successful designers whose designs are sought after today. However, there were other Danish designers who made a successful living as furniture designers and sometimes also as architects, each with pieces that are recognised today as worthy of care. One such person was undoubtedly Erling Torvits. There is hardly any bibliographical information about him, but we know that he was born in 1925 and trained as a cabinetmaker. He graduated in 1944. He initially worked in Copenhagen for AJIversen before setting up his own small design studio in Herning, Jutland. His best-known designs, like many mid-century designers, date from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s, so he was at his most successful in his 30s and 40s. Today he is perhaps best known for his nesting tables and coffee tables for Heltborg Mobler, but he also designed some lovely sofas and chairs, as well as some furniture. Indeed, the Heltborg table set was one of Erling Torvits' best-known designs, a model that looks as if its legs are about to walk and move around the room. They are shown in the Danish Design Museum's furniture index as designs in 1958. Erling Torvits is known to have designed for the small Danish manufacturer Knud Nielsen. Many Danish pieces are still to be attributed to specific designers and even manufacturers. One of his sofa and chair designs is manufactured in Denmark today and is known as the "Sushi".