Henrik Thor-Larsen – Ovalia Egg Chair (1968)

The sensationalOvalia Egg Chair is designed by the Danish designer Henrik Thor-Larsen and was originally exhibited at the Scandinavian Furniture Fair in 1968, then sold worldwide for a decade until production stopped in 1978.

The chair is a classic furniture design, it resembles Eero Aarnio’s Ball Chair, but has more narrow proportions. The Ovalia Egg Chair has a lot of attitude, the design comprises an egg-shaped reinforced fibreglass shell, painted glossy white, with a portion removed from the front. Coloured padding surrounds the small space inside, and extra cushions upholstered are added to the seat and back.

Henrik Thor-Larsen first designed and built sports and racing cars on Porsche chassis, and was then discovered by Saab in Sweden and asked to design seats for their sporty model Sonett. His interest turned increasingly to industrial design and he took the step from car seats to chairs.

The retro-futuristic chair is perhaps best known for its starring role in the films Men in Black and Men in Black II. The design exudes attitude, especially with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in two black and white Ovalia Egg Chairs for the poster of Men in Black II, showing the actors sat in matching versions of the design. The chair went back into mass production as a result.

Author: Anna Marie Fisker

Photo: Poster produced by Posters USA. Picture available at: https://filmandfurniture.com/2017/12/scene-nowt-chair-taken-ovalia-egg-chair-men-black/