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Claus Wohlert
Claus Wohlert
AT LOUISIANA MUSEUM, DENMARK
AT LOUISIANA MUSEUM, DENMARK
Works et ce que j’avais vécu du temps
de mon père. Si le travail des ébénistes
était très respecté au Danemark, cette
situation a changé à cause de la baisse
de leurs salaires ; j’ai donc été agréable-
ment surpris de retrouver un tel respect
à Shanghai, cette immense, étrange
et fantastique ville qui m’a replongé
dans mon enfance. L’expérience que
j’y ai vécue a été aussi inattendue que
gratifiante.
La Wohlert Piano Chair fait désormais
partie du logo de Stella Works, et donc
en quelque sorte de son ADN. Pourriez-
vous nous en parler rapidement ?
C.W. : J’aime cette idée. Nous entrete-
nons une relation cordiale et avons du
respect l’un pour l’autre. Yuichiro Hori
est très professionnel : il respecte les
produits et la vocation de son entreprise.
Comment envisagez-vous le développe-
ment de Stellar Works dans les pays
nordiques, notamment au Danemark,
qui a toujours fait figure de leader dans
la culture européenne du mobilier d’ébé-
niste ? Et dans le prolongement de cette
question, comment les Scandinaves per-
cevront-ils selon vous les collections de
Stellar Works ?
C.W. : Stellar Works et Wohlert entre-
tiennent d’excellentes relations. Je
pense que notre collection bénéfi-
ciera à la réputation de la marque dans
les pays scandinaves comme dans le
monde entier. Concernant la question
de l’ADN et de la filiation… eh bien si les
choses sont comme vous le dites, alors
on pourrait en quelque sorte considérer
la marque comme notre successeur.
Pourriez-vous nous parler de la nouvelle
lampe Copper conçue par Vilhelm
Wohlert pour le Musée Louisiana ?
C.W. : Nous avons passé plus de deux
ans à développer ce nouveau prototype
en nous efforçant d’être aussi fidèles que
possible à l’original, et cette réédition est
encore plus aboutie qu’il n’y paraît.
Claus Wohlert is an architect and
founding partner of Wohlert Arkitekter, an
architectural consultancy specialized in
buildings for culture and conservation.
Claus also oversees the archive of his
father, Vilhelm Wohlert, who was one of
Denmark’s leading architects and
furniture designers of the 20th century.
Along with Jørgen Bo, Vilhelm Wohlert
designed the Louisiana Museum of Art,
which among many outstanding qualities,
is noteworthy for its natural integration
with the surrounding landscape. In
addition, Wohlert’s beautifully crafted,
wooden furniture is renowned for its
sculptural shaping, as well as for its
comfort and enduring style—including
the now iconic Louisiana Chair, which was
one of the first pieces to be reproduced
by Stellar Works. Since 2012, the
collaboration between Claus and Stellar
Works has seen the re-edition of over ten
pieces including a Copper finish lamp
originally made for the Louisiana Museum,
coming out later in 2018.
How and when did your collaboration with
Stellar Works begin?
Claus Wohlert: It began in early 2012. At
the time, several furniture companies had
approached me about doing re-editions.
The first three I felt the quality of the prod-
ucts was quite low and I refused. The 4th
company was Stellar Works. I was inter-
ested in the company partially because
of its Japanese background, and I had
seen photo of other products in the Stellar
Works collection and I liked what I saw. I
agreed for one piece to be reproduced to
see how it would work and the quality and
finish turned out to be very good, very de-
tailed. I was happy so I decided to go for it
and I have been happy with the relation-
ship since. I really felt that they listened to
me throughout the process so in this way it
is also a good collaboration.
Why did you think Stellar Works would be
the right company to see the re-edition of
Vilhelm Wohlert’s furniture? What aspects
of the company stood out most in your
opinion?
CW: Their attention to detail, the quality;
it is a real collaboration and one of mu-
tual understanding. Again, I liked the fact
that there was a Japanese background—
this was a positive but it was not crucial. I
took a trip to Japan to see how they work
and what they do and I was impressed by
the other examples I saw there and how
things were running. I also really appreci-
ated Yuichiro’s ability for spotting good
talent and design. But it was the prototype
that finally confirmed my interest to move
forward.
Have you been to Shanghai to see the
factory?
CW: Yes. I did go to Shanghai to see the pro-
duction facilities and I was quite impressed
to see how well organized the factory
was—well, it is not really a factory but more
of large workshop—and very organized!
There are many older men who are hired
to keep it organized which is nice. In many
ways it reminded me of visiting furniture
factories with my father when I was growing
up—the detail, the tools, and methods they
used then—many are applied in the Stellar
Works factory. The work of cabinet makers
in Denmark used to have a lot of respect
but this has disappeared because of (low-
er) wages—so it was surprising and quite
nice to see this being repeated in Shanghai
in this huge strange/fantastic city- which
brought me back to my childhood. This was
really nice and unexpected.
The Wohlert Piano Chair is in fact part of
the Stellar Works logo- in a way now part
of its DNA- would you speak briefly to that?
CW: I like it and appreciate this. We have
a good relationship and mutual respect.
Yuichiro treats the work in a very profes-
sional way. He respects the product and
the nature of the business.
How do you see Stellar Works develop-
ing in Nordic countries—particularly in
Denmark which has always been a lead-
er in the culture of wooden furniture in
Europe? And connected to this: How do
you think Scandinavians perceive Stellar
Works Signature Collections?
CW: The relationship between Stellar
Works and Wohlert is very good and I think
the collection will help their reputation in
Scandinavian countries and worldwide—
but as a worthy successor…well, so if we
have become a part of his DNA as you
say—then yes in some ways it could be
seen as successor.
Can you talk about the new Copper finish
designed by Vilhelm Wohlert for Louisiana
Museum?
CW: Yes, this is a new piece for the re-
editions. We have spent more than two
years working on the development trying to
honour to its original design. We are repro-
ducing the original lamp and it is a lot more
completed than how it looks.
3-5 — Louisiana Chair, Courtesy of the Louisiana Museum
6 — Louisiana Chair & XXXX
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© Taran Wilkhu
