Erik Höglund Geometric Candlestick

A painted pine candlestick designed by Erik Höglund for Boda Trä, Sweden, circa 1966.

Erik Höglund was as a major figure in the success of Swedish design during the mid-20th century, and is best known for his distinctive glassware produced by Boda.

In the early 1960's Boda glassworks founded a carpentry department to revitalise the woodworking traditions in the local village. Exploring this new material, Höglund designed predominantly lathe-turned objects inspired by the shapes and silhouettes of traditional Swedish pine homewares. These designs were a commercial success, but Höglund was known as a maverick, a boundary-pusher and significantly a non-traditionalist...

During the mid-1960's Höglund designed a handful of new experimental candlesticks from glued & painted blocks of wood. These geometric designs were not mass-produced, and were potentially assembled by Höglund himself. Most are un-documented, but a large example can be found on page 104 of the book 'Från Boda till New York' by Gunnel Holmer. Stylistically different from his other designs in wood, these items are raw, geometric, and share the same honest rusticity observed in his glassware.

This painted yellow candlestick is from this rare series. Constructed from three wooden blocks, Höglund's design is unapologetically simple & Modernist in form. The object defies the typical Swedish aesthetic of the time which was generally more fluid & organic. Höglund's bold design holds four taper candles, and features copper sconces to protect the wood.

Höglund would later revisit brightly painted & glued wooden objects during the 1970's, with a series of distinctive geometric mirrors. These items are highly recognisable designs, and this candlestick was perhaps an initial experimentation that eventually developed into these large and well-known works.