Fristho FRANEKER

Vintage Design

This Dutch modernist sideboard was designed by Kho Liang Ie and Wim Crouwel for Fristho Franeker in 1957. This wenge sideboard has brass legs and white formica integrated grips. 

Born in 1927 in Magelang, Indonesia, of Chinese parents, Kho Liang Ie came to the Netherlands in about 1949, where he trained as an interior designer and designer at the Rietveld Academy. In 1958, he was appointed aesthetic consultant and designer at Artifort. His contribution shifted Artifort’s focus to the top of the international market. Kho Liang Ie attracted foreign designers such as Pierre Paulin and Geoffrey Harcourt, which has made his influence noticeable right up to the present day. As an interior designer, Kho Liang Ie made his name with his design for Schiphol Airport in the 1960s. His work reflects purity, warmth, and freedom. Kho Liang Ie died on 1st January 1975.

Wim Crouwel (AGI Membership – 1957 / International President 1980-1983) studied fine art (1946-49) at the Academy Minerva in Groningen, and joined an exhibition design firm (1962), where he gained his first experience in graphic design. Inspired by Swiss design, he started a freelance practice in Amsterdam (1964). In 1956 Crouwel set up a studio with industrial designer Kho Liang Ie; they collaborated on 3D and graphic design projects. He experimented with letterforms, graphic systems, and a rigorous examination of the grid. During the 1950s he met with leading Swiss colleagues and witnessed the emerging International Style. He became the first general secretary of Icograda (1963). In that year with Benno Wissing, Friso Kramer, and the Schwarz brothers, he founded the first multi-disciplinary Dutch design group, Total Design, which was to become a dominant force in the Netherlands. He designed the standard Dutch postage stamps and produced extensive work for the Stedelijk Museum (1964-85). Wim extended the grid to become a matrix within which he constructed his New Alphabet. At Delft University Crouwel became a part-time professor (1972) and, after leaving Total Design (1980), a full-time professor. He was appointed director of Museum Boijmans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam (1985). He received the British OBE, is a RDI, Knight of the Dutch Lion, Officer of Orange Nassau, and received the Oeuvre Award 2004 from the Dutch Fund for Fine Arts, Design and Architecture.
text source   : Pamono.com

Currently on sale

Previously on sale