Not merely a chair but a stand-alone object, Ekstrem represents one of Norway’s first postmodern designs. Designed in a time characterized by significant change, a new generation of designers set out to challenge convention in search for originality. A bold combination of aesthetics and ergonomics, Ekstrem offers a sitting experience out of the ordinary.
The unexpected geometrics allow you to sit forward with feet on the ground, sideways with legs placed on the armrests, or completely backwards with the front of the torso against the chair’s back.
Ekstrem is available in six colorways in Knit, a bespoke woolen upholstery textile by Norwegian Devold. Knitted from one continuous thread, it provides an elasticity which is essential when fitted to the chair’s organic shape. The knitted fabric offers a soft and breathable surface and features a classic quadratic pattern.
Like many talented industrial designers of his generation, Terje Ekstrøm had one foot in crafts and the other in industry. He trained as a cabinet maker and upholsterer before studying interior and furniture design at the National College of Art and Design in Oslo, Norway. Ekstrøm’s work contributed to a new vitality and independence to the Norwegian design scene of the 70s and 80s, at a time of significant cultural and social change. Ekstrøm represented a new generation of designers who challenged the ideas of Scandinavian design. Although he is today seen as one of Norway’s first postmodern designers, Ekstrøm’s original output and its mediation is also connected to the ideals of the modern movement and later pop culture.