The Scandinavian Leonardo: The Renowned Finnish Designer Tapio Wirkkala
The owner of MolnaVintage Alex recalls his visit to the Espoo Museum of Modern Art near Helsinki and tells us about one of the stars of 20th-century Scandinavian design, Tapio Wirkkala.
EMMA museum. Photo MolnaVintage. All rights reseved
When you drive along the narrow road in this calm, stylish suburb of Helsinki, everything seems familiar and predictable in the usual Scandinavian way. You park, walk through the trademark Finnish silence into EMMA—the Espoo Museum of Modern Art. And suddenly, through the windows, you see a genuine UFO has landed on the other side of the courtyard.
EMMA museum. Photo MolnaVintage. All rights reseved
Inside the museum, an even greater surprise awaits: the largest collection of design heritage by the star duo Ruth Bryk and Tapio Wirkkala.
Wirkkala is one of the most renowned Scandinavian designers and arguably the most important designer of the 1950s-1980s.
What strikes you most at EMMA is a certain unfinished, unrefined quality of the exhibition. There are overflowing glass showcases, a wooden box resembling an ancient Viking burial boat filled with various items from the Ultima Thule series, produced since 1968, and almost empty shelves nearby.
Ultima Thule in EMMA Museum. Photo MolnaVintage. All rights reserved
The space is fragmented, semi-open. Some things can only be seen if you stand on tiptoe, even at my considerable height. There is no period at the end; instead, there’s an ellipsis. It takes time to realize that a period cannot be placed—and that this is the exhibit’s strength.
Tapio Wirkkala was a Renaissance man, the Scandinavian Leonardo of the 20th century. He mastered all materials and textures, leaving behind hundreds of different objects and series. His genius was evident in everything he touched: art glass, tableware, decorative items, sculpture, lighting, jewelry, and furniture. EMMA primarily showcases art glass, which occupied the artist throughout his life. This is why it’s impossible to say that Wirkkala’s entire body of work has been collected and comprehended. The ellipsis is the best that can be.
Like a true Finn, Wirkkala drew inspiration from nature and became a pioneer of Scandinavian organic design, embodying natural patterns and forms in his works. This design school was authentic to the Scandinavian countries.
In his work, Wirkkala used a special method: he managed to see and capture the abstract essence of a natural object in glass, metal, or wood. This method fused two of the most powerful currents in 20th-century Scandinavian design: organic design and minimalist geometric style.
Kantarelli in EMMA Museum. Photo MolnaVintage. All rights reserved
His first creation was the vase and art object Kantarelli—“Chanterelle” in English. Yes, it refers to the mushroom that grows in the forest. Tapio Wirkkala designed it in 1946.
The forest mushroom "chanterelle" made Tapio, named after the ancient Finnish god of the forest, famous. The vase first won a contest by the art glass manufacturer Karhula-Iittala, and then it was noticed at the Nordiskt Konsthantverk exhibition in Stockholm in 1946, marking Wirkkala’s rise to fame beyond Finland.
In the EMMA museum book on Wirkkala—"Tapio Wirkkala. Taiteilija. 2019"—author Marja-Terttu Kiviranta writes that the Kantarelli series and similar early abstract design items represent new, modernist post-war European art.
Global recognition came to Wirkkala with prizes at the Milan Triennials—the most prestigious design competitions at the time. At the 1960 Triennale, he won a prize for the Paadarin Jaa glass sculptures, “Ice of Paadar.” These pieces reflect the natural power of the northern elements. Wirkkala continued to create similar items throughout his life.
Paaderin Jaa in EMMA Museum. Photo MolnaVintage. All rights reserved
The small Lapland lake Paadar, where Wirkkala spent part of his summers, inspired an entire series of tableware named after it.
Kiviranta considers the peak of Wirkkala's creative success to be around 1968 when he designed the Ultima Thule tableware series—cups and bowls with surfaces resembling ice covered with droplets of water.
Interestingly, the legendary rough surface of these items happened almost by accident: the uneven texture of the first pieces was due to the quality of the glass.
Later came the classic Pinus vase (1973) with a pine bark texture, work for Venini, the “Paper Bag” vase for Rosenthal (1977), and much more. There was always a keen attention to Finnish national culture, Lapland's archaic art, new techniques, and Italian glassmaking technologies.
Discovering Wirkkala is an endless journey. I continually find new and inspiring objects created by him.
Behind every design object stands its creator, each piece bearing the imprint of its maker's personality. Tapio Wirkkala said that a designer must leave the drawing board, see how the item is made, and get to know the people who will manufacture it. This approach largely defined the leading position of Scandinavian designers in the second half of the 20th century.
This column was first published in Ad magazine