YNGVE EKSTRÖM. Chair, "Arka", Stolab, 2013.

Black-lacquered wooden frame. Designed in 1955. Deep-stamped with date. Cushion included. Height 67 cm. Seat height 38 cm. Width 73 cm.

Yngve Ekström was a Swedish furniture designer and cabinetmaker, born on March 29, 1913, and died on May 4, 1988. His interest in furniture design was sparked at an early age when he began working in his father's carpentry workshop. Ekström later trained at the Furniture Carpentry School in Bodafors and continued his career as a cabinetmaker and designer. In 1944, Yngve Ekström founded the furniture company that would later become Swedese, together with his brother Jerker Ekström.

Ekström is considered one of the most significant and influential designers during the golden age of Swedish furniture design in the 1950s and 1960s. He was known for his innovative and functional design, which was often combined with organic forms and natural materials. His furniture is characterized by simplicity and elegance, and he often used wood as his primary material choice.

In 1955, Yngve Ekström created a low spindle chair for Stolab named Arka. The name is an abbreviation of the Romans' arched sidewalks, known as arcades, and the arched form is reflected in the lounge chair's unique design. Yngve Ekström was inspired by three circles when he created the chair, and the result was an iconic design that has become a model for many subsequent pieces of furniture over the years. Arka is mainly manufactured in solid birch or oak, which gives the chairs both durability and a natural beauty.