Paul Kingma Design History

Dutch sculptor, mosaic artist, and designer Paul Kingma (1931-2013) is best known for his dramatic ceramic & stone coffee tables which have the sombre presence of the Brutalist design period.

As early as the 1970`s Kingma designed furniture incorporating natural elements of the earth in a Brutalist but beautiful way.

In the 80`s, Kingma incorporated other materials in relief like fossils, pebbles, copper & brass. Kingma once quoted "my stone tables resist the corruption of time, and support the weight of life".

This table is part of a series often referred to as the Kingma or Tableaux Series. Kingma incorporated unique mosaics & stones into table tops, later incorporating fossils & petrified wood into his practice. Often these were materials collected during his travels, in this case the coin, a frequent feature of his pieces.

This featured table has two penny farthings, one from the 1930`s with King George and the other from the 1950`s with Queen Elizabeth.

Kingma sought to create tables that were first and foremost “self-contained” design objects.

Born in The Hague, Paul Kingma studied art in Arnhem before training at the Rijksakademie [State Academy of Fine Arts] in Amsterdam and the Royal Academy of Arts in London.

Over the course of his career, he was commissioned to create several sculptures for public spaces in Dutch cities such as Utrecht, Eindhoven, & Amersfoort. Below is his statue `De Stadstrompetter` (City trumpeter) in Amersfoort.

Many of his sculptures are in Utrecht. For example the statue below is titled De Menselijke Ontmoeting (The Human Encounter).

It was in mosaic art, however, that Kingma established his reputation for collectible design.

In addition to his furniture design, Kingma also taught sculpture & mosaics at the Institute of Visual Arts in Amersfoort. The sculptures above & below are also in Utrecht.

Paul Kingma passed away at 81. His furniture pieces are sought after, with each one considered a unique piece art. Deeply committed to his artistic expression, Kingma famously said, “The next table is the most beautiful.”