Along with architect Alvar Aalto, the designer Tapio Wirkkala was Finland’s leading contributor to the Scandinavian interpretation of modernism in the mid-20th century. Prolific and innovative, Wirkkala excelled in a wide range of fields, including glass, furniture, porcelain, jewelry and tableware. The hallmark of his talent was an ability to impart a craft aesthetic based on natural forms — leaves, ice, bubbles, birds — to industrially produced designs.
A native of Helsinki, Wirkkala studied at the national School of Applied Arts and took up a career in graphic design. After serving in the Finnish army during World War II, he joined the glassmaking firm Iittala, an association that would continue to the end of his life. Wirkkala learned every aspect of glassmaking in keeping with his belief that an artist-designer should be involved in all stages of production. His best-known works for Iittala are vases and drinking vessels that resemble either carved ice or icicles. In 1956, Wirkkala began a long relationship with the porcelain maker Rosenthal, for whom he designed elegant table pieces, such as the Finlandia coffee service and the biomorphic Pollo vases.
House Beautiful magazine declared Wirkkala’s Leaf platter the “most beautiful object” of 1951. (The acclaim led to his brief employment stint with industrial designer Raymond Loewy in New York.) That platter was one of the first designs Wirkkala made using laminated sheets of plywood sanded to a smooth surface that resembles an abstract leaf. It would go on to become a motif in many Wirkkala furniture pieces — most notably in inlaid coffee tables for Asko — and in a sense these are the works most emblematic of his personal aesthetic.
Wirkkala was a traditionalist in many ways, but he had a modernist’s practical approach, incorporating his leaf-like spirals into simple, functional objects. That is the core attraction of Wirkkala’s designs: They stand out with a striking, sculptural energy yet blend in as part of a warm and comfortable decor.
Find vintage Tapio Wirkkala furniture on 1stDibs.
Mini Filande glass vase Tapio Wirkkala
By Tapio Wirkkala
Located in Autonomous City Buenos Aires, CABA
Mini Finnish Glass Vase by Tapio Wirkkala This mini Finnish glass vase, designed by Tapio Wirkkala, is a translucent amber piece with a subtle gradient toward a lighter, almost yello...
Art Glass
Transparent Finnish glass vase by TAPIO WIRKKALA
By Tapio Wirkkala
Located in Autonomous City Buenos Aires, CABA
Transparent Finnish Glass Vase by Tapio Wirkkala This Finnish glass vase, designed by Tapio Wirkkala, is a transparent piece with an irregular rectangular shape. Its outer surface fe...
Art Glass
Czech Art Deco Vase by Rudolf Schrotter
By Rudolf Alexander Schroder
Located in Autonomous City Buenos Aires, CABA
Czech Art Deco Vase by Rudolf Schrotter The beauty and timeless design of this crystal vase, a creation by renowned Czech designer Rudolf Schrotte...
Art Glass
iittala Vase Tuuli Wind Cup Valto Kokko Finland
Located in Autonomous City Buenos Aires, CABA
iittala Tuuli Wind Glass Vase Valto Kokko Finland This Finnish vase features a modern, minimalist design, characteristic of the Scandinavian style. It is made of high-quality glass, ...
Art Glass
Cristal vase 1950s, A. Churba
By Alberto Churba
Located in Autonomous City Buenos Aires, CABA
Of the most decorative and modern pieces by the designer, Argentine architect Alberto Churba. Alberto Churba Konex Platinum Award 1982: Design He was born on 08/02/1932. Konex Platinum Award 1982. Professor of Drawing and Painting, graduated from the National School of Fine Arts (1954). In 1960 he created the Churba Studio (CH-Center of Art and Design), specialized in the design of furniture, textiles, carpets and glass. His works were exhibited in important galleries, museums and institutions dedicated to national and international art, including the Cinta 5 armchair exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A, England) and at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA, USA. ). Among other works, he designed upholstery textiles and beach canvases...
Glass
Vintage Textured Glass Vase from Finland
Located in Autonomous City Buenos Aires, CABA
Vintage Finnish Textured Glass Vase This Mid-Century Modern glass vase, of Scandinavian Finnish origin, stands out for its frosted finish and deep texture that simulates ice or bark,...
Art Glass
Tapio Wirkkala, Vase, Glass, Finland, 1960s
By Iittala, Tapio Wirkkala
Located in High Point, NC
A blown glass vase designed by Tapio Wirkkala, and produced by Iittala, Finland, 1960s
Glass
Venini Vase 'Lapponi', Designed by Tapio Wirkkala in 1968
By Tapio Wirkkala, Venini
Located in Berghuelen, DE
Venini Vase 'Lapponi', Designed by Tapio Wirkkala in 1968 A rare vase of the Lapponi (laplanders) series designed in 1968 by Tapio Wirkkala for Venini. Thin red and smoke grey glass...
Art Glass, Murano Glass
Vintage Art Glass Vase by Martti Rytkoenen for Orrefors, Sweden
By Orrefors
Located in Berghuelen, DE
Vintage Art Glass Vase by Martti Rytkoenen for Orrefors, Sweden A vintage art glass vase designed by Martti Rytkoenen, Finnland for Orrefors ca. 1990s. Colorless glass in houre glas...
Art Glass
A Rare "Coreani" GLASS VASE by TAPIO WIRKKALA, VENINI MURANO, Italy, 1970
By Tapio Wirkkala
Located in PARIS, FR
A large model of the "Coreani" vase by Tapio Wirkkala, Venini Murano, Italy 1970. This beautiful piece in blown glass in the tones of watery green and blue sky, is acid signed Venini...
Blown Glass
Vicke Lindstrand, Vase, Glass, Sweden, 1960s
By Kosta Boda, Vicke Lindstrand
Located in High Point, NC
A blown green glass vase designed by Vicke Lindstrand and produced by Kosta Boda, Sweden, c. 1960s.
Glass
'Kielo' Vase in Finnish Glass Designed by Tamara Aladin for Riihimäki 1960s
By Tamara Aladin
Located in Milano, MI
Hand-blown Finnish blue glass vase, designed by Tamara Aladin and made by Riihimäki in the 1960s Ø 11 cm h 20 cm
Glass
