Page 32 - Issue 29 - VE Magazine

homeware
Other work
There was no end to Wirkkala’s talents. He ventured into the expanding world of Mid-century plastics, producing some wonderful cups for the Aero (later Finnair) airline, which echoed the planes’ tailfins, making a throwaway item into a collector’s piece for those smart enough not to leave them behind! He also designed a wide range of everyday plastic products for the Strömfors company, including electrical switches, household goods and plastic packaging. He even turned his hand to designing a range of jewellery for Nils Westerback Oy, inspired by late-60s space travel and Op Art, with names such as Silver Moon, Half-Moon and Apple.
Left: On the stunning 1971 Silver Moon pendant the rings are all free moving, creating a stunning mobile effect. There’s also the 1972 Half-Moon (centre) and
the Apple from 1975 (far left). Below: Salad servers designed for the Strömfors company
Rut Bryk (1916-1999)
Bryk was an artist primarily known for her ceramic artworks, which began with wall pieces depicting still life, architectural motifs, mythological themes, plants and birds. In the late 1960s she began to produce large architectural ceramic wall pieces with differently shaped and coloured modules, which are integrated in important architectural projects such as the Helsinki City Hall and the Finnish Embassy in New Delhi.
She also designed simple geometric and vividly coloured ceramic objects, exquisitely coloured textiles and graphic surface decoration for Tapio Wirkkala’s industrial porcelain designs.
Still/Life: Tapio Wirkkala Retrospective Exhibition is currently at Sámi Museum Siida in Lapland until September, when it moves to the Kaustinen Folk Art Centre. In February 2017 it travels to Finland’s Espoo Museum of Modern Art (EMMA). The exhibition celebrates Wirkkala’s life’s work, and includes designs and projects that were never realised. The collection, donated to the Tapio Wirkkala - Rut Bryk Foundation by the Wirkkala–Bryk Estate, is a unique comprehensive and invaluable collection
of universal importance, covering their entire artistic output throughout all the decades of their intense creative activity.
32 / August-September 2016 / ve
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