Trained as an architect, the Danish designer Arne Jacobsen believed that every element of a design should serve a purpose, and aesthetics should harmonise with utility. His prolific career saw him create numerous iconic pieces of furniture, lighting, and architecture that continue to influence and inspire designers today.
The present pair of 'Tongue' chairs with their reduced silhouette are an example of Jacobsen’s innovative approach to furniture design that defies convention. The works display a fusion of modern aesthetics and an unusual material combination. The sleek and ergonomic beech-veneered plywood shell, which serves as a seat and backrest and sits on top of steel legs with rubber feet represent a departure from the more frequently seen Danish designs which favour an all-wood construction. Over the next decade Jacobsen would return again and again to this simple construction method which he developed with Fritz Hansen for various other designs, such as the ‘Ant’ or the ‘Lily’ chair.
The ‘Tongue’ chair model was meant to be included in two of his most acclaimed projects, in the Munkegaard School in 1957 and the interior of the acclaimed SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen in 1960.