Celebrating a master mid-century craftsman

Norman Rosenblatt – a collector of Schulim Krimper's furniture – wrote in 2014: “Krimper’s passion for a product of nature, namely wood, turned grain into brush strokes of beauty. And the palette he used needed no mixing, but only the touch and understanding of his artistic genius.”  

After viewing the 41 items of furniture – sideboards, cupboards, chairs, desks, tables, frames, boxes, and many others – by Schulim Krimper on display at the Bayside Gallery, I was struck by the thought that he brought together an understanding of natural surfaces and domestic interiors as found in European high art.

Krimper's work can also be read as small-scale architecture, echoing a lightness and spareness found in the buildings of architect and design masters like Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.

It is a treat to see so many works on display throughout the exhibition – entitled Schulim Krimper: mid-century artist and master craftsman and curated by Kirsty Grant – which include pieces from private collections that have never been shown before in public. 

Krimper was born in 1893 in Romania during the Austro-Hungarian Empire and died in Melbourne in 1971. Unfortuanetly, it appears that none of Krimper's work in Europe has been identified, meaning the relationship between his pre-war work and what he did in Australia with local timber – which he adored – is unknown.

In late 1938, Krimper left Germany on a one-way ticket and spent months in a Kitchener Camp for refugees in the UK. Even in the camp, his skill was recognised, with a local magazine reporting: “Give him an old railway sleeper, timber that has been left to rot or wood that has been given up as useless, and he will return to you in a few hours with a beautifully finished tobacco jar, a flower bowl, a letter rack... but made with such masterly cunning that it is impossible to associate it with the raw material from which you know he made it."

In August 1939, Krimper arrived with his wife Elsbeth to a new life in Australia. He established himself over the years as a masterful craftsman with a workshop in the now-gone High Street in St Kilda. While having to engage in day-to-day work to make a living (such as making ammunition boxes), he managed to eventually employ up to six other craftsmen and began attracting a high-end clientele.

To all, he was known simply as “Krimper”, adorned with his signature beret and monocle.

Krimper was exhibited at the exclusive Georges department store in Melbourne in 1951 to much acclaim. In 1952, in the Argus, critic Keith Finlay said: “The knots, whirls and grain are like gems he sets in a crown. He turns them this way and that deciding how he will pass the sharp steel to free their glory.”

Krimper claims he was eventually able to choose his clients, and given his background, many of his objects ended up in stylish modernist homes in Caulfield and surrounding Jewish suburbs.

He became known to the wider public through champions associated with the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), which bought several of his works. Krimper also designed for churches, including the Chapel of St Mary’s College at Melbourne University, while the influential architect Dr Ernest Fooks – another transplanted Austro-Hungarian – became a close friend.

In Europe, with its vast forests, the tradition of working wood for domestic furniture and interiors is ancient.

Krimper absorbed this skill in Bukovina in approximately 1905, after his religious father died, first becoming an apprentice, where he worked from sunrise until late at night. Following the footsteps of artists before him, Krimper then started travelling.

After a stint serving in the Austro-Hungarian Army in World War I, he moved to Germany, where he absorbed the domestic traditions of 19th century Biedermeier furnishing and the innovations of schools such as Art Deco, Bauhaus and Werkstätte.

Eminent curator Terence Lane said Krimper’s use of Werkstätte produced “light and elegant” furniture – and this is reflected in the best items in the Bayside exhibition.

For example, the superb carving, fitting, and recessing of light and dark woods resulting in different effects is displayed in the Shallow Chest on Stand (1948), which was recognised at that time as a masterpiece and bought for the NGV.

His clear lines, and masterful but not intrusive adornment is reminiscent of Art Deco. The external dovetailing on one storage chest from the 1950s, and the large but light 1961 teak screen made of perfectly formed hanging rods and loops, demonstrating his skill.

Krimper’s obsession with perfect decoration was transferred to much smaller objects, such as specially made keys and locks unique to individual doors. But regrettably, all but one of his cupboards and chests are shut in this exhibition.

I have previously been lucky enough to see inside one in a domestic setting, open and close its doors, slide its draws and fitted trays in and out, and feel its carefully waxed surfaces. This is interior design at its best: in this case, not just the outside architecture of the cabinet, but the mechanical insides, as if it were an entire building under Krimper’s control.

Krimper was also strongly influenced by 20th century art. His Dinner Wagon (1953), made of oak and laminate with its red back wheels and front castor and single rod to pull is a utilitarian object.

Art collector Norman Rosenblatt suggests that this represents “abstract constructionism on wheels,” like a work by the Russian avant-garde artist Kazimir Malevich. It’s almost like a child’s toy – fitting as Krimper did make toys from scraps, some of which are on display in this exhibition.

Taking the time to tour Krimper’s extraordinary works is a real treat. It’s an exhibition entirely worth savouring – but just don’t touch anything!

Schulim Krimper: mid-century artist and master craftsman is exhibiting for free until 24 August 2025. Find out more information online.