© Tapio Wirkkala. Tapio Wirkkala Rut Bryk Foundation Collection / EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art © KUVASTO, Helsinki & JASPAR, Tokyo, 2024 C4780
As the title suggests, the exhibition we are introducing this time is "Tapio Wirkkala: The Edge of the World."
I've been meaning to introduce this for a while, but it's a little late.
Do you know Tapio Wirkkala?
© Maaria Wirkkala. Tapio Wirkkala Rut Bryk Foundation Collection / EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art © KUVASTO, Helsinki & JASPAR, Tokyo, 2024 C4780
The person on the right in the photo is Tapio Wirkkala
He was born on June 2, 1915, in the port city of Hanko in southern Finland, and spent his childhood in Helsinki. After graduating from the Central School of Arts and Crafts in 1936, he worked as an advertising designer. In 1945, he married Rut Bryk (1916-1999), a ceramic artist in the art department of Arabia Porcelain Factory. In 1946, he won a design competition for Iittala, which led to his appointment as a designer for the company, and he remained at the forefront of design for nearly 40 years. In 1951, he won the Grand Prix at the Milan Triennale for his glass work "Cantarelli" and the venue design. In 1966, he founded the design firm "Design Tapio Wirkkala." He collaborated with the Venetian glass workshop Venini and the German porcelain manufacturer Rosenthal, and designed the Finnish mark banknotes, Finnair's in-flight tableware, and the Finlandia vodka bottle. He passed away on May 19, 1985, in Hesinki, at the age of 69. He is known as one of the three great masters of Finnish design, alongside Kaj Franck and Timo Sarpaneva. In 2003, the Tapio Wirkkala Rut Bryk Foundation was established, and many of his works have been entrusted to the Espoo Museum of Modern Art.
So, a nice introduction would be like this.
In any case, he is an amazing person with many talents.
He has worked on portfolios, glass, furniture, product design, sculpture, graphics, banknotes, and even urban planning.
Wirkkala works with all kinds of materials to create sophisticated forms that blend geometry and nature, while his glass objects with mythological motifs and objects made from laminated plywood, which he developed himself, also reveal a side of him that is different from that of a product designer.His work has been greatly influenced by his residence in Lapland, the northernmost part of Finland, with his wife, ceramic artist Rut Bryk. (Rut Bryk is on the left in the photo.)
The silence so intense you can hear your heartbeat, the mystery of life and the vitality of nature that he felt in the untouched wilderness, inspired him to create many masterpieces, including "Ultima Thule" (Latin for "the northernmost point of the world").
Wirkkala painting birds (1970s)
©Pirjo Honkasalo. Tapio Wirkkala Rut Bryk Foundation collection / EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern A
Lintu / Bird, 1975, bronze
Tapio Wirkkala Rut Bryk Foundation collection / EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art. ©Ari Karttunen / EMMA
"Lechtivati / Leaf Dish", 1950s, plywood
Tapio Wirkkala Rut Bryk Foundation collection / EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art. © Ari Karttunen / EMMA © KUVASTO, Helsinki & JASPAR, Tokyo, 2024 C4780
Bolle
Tapio Wirkkala Rut Bryk Foundation collection / EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art. © Archivio Venini © KUVASTO, Helsinki & JASPAR, Tokyo, 2024 C4780
"Piatt di Tapio"
Tapio Wirkkala Rut Bryk Foundation collection / EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art. © Ari Karttunen / EMMA © KUVASTO, Helsinki & JASPAR, Tokyo, 2024 C4780
© Tapio Wirkkala. Tapio Wirkkala Rut Bryk Foundation collection / EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art © KUVASTO, Helsinki & JASPAR, Tokyo, 2024 C4780
Scandinavian master Tapio Wirkkala
I believe that without him the development of Scandinavian mid-century design would not have been possible.
This exhibition, the first of its kind in Japan, was planned to commemorate the 110th anniversary of his birth and the 40th anniversary of his death, and will travel to Tokyo after its first exhibition. Approximately 300 carefully selected products and objects from the Espoo Museum of Modern Art, the Tapio Wirkkala Rut Bryk Foundation, and Collection Kakkonen are on display, along with drawings (reproductions) and photographs that reveal the production process and background of these pieces.
Please come and experience Wirkkala's creations and ideas.
There must be something that resonates with you.
