This chair, by the Danish designer Grete Jalk (1920–2006), is one of the most distinctive pieces of moulded plywood furniture of the 20th century. Made from two pieces of plywood, joined at their base, its highly sculptural form illustrates perfectly the flexibility of form offered by plywood as a material.

Grete Jalk was born in Copenhagen in 1920. After working as a cabinet-maker’s apprentice she studied at Copenhagen School of Art and Crafts (where she later taught) and with Kaare Klint at the Royal Academy in Copenhagen. She started her own design studio in 1954, and worked for many years in collaboration with the Danish manufacturer Poul Jeppesen.

The chair is part of a group of plywood furniture that Jalk began to design in 1962. The other pieces in the group were a set of nesting tables, whose form is similar to the seat profile of this chair, and a large coffee table. Jalk’s plywood furniture was manufactured by Poul Jeppesen. Having initially worked with Jeppesen on traditionally handcrafted seat and case furniture, Jalk became interested in designing less expensive furniture that could be industrially produced. It was this that led to her experiments with plywood.