Tapio Wirkkala

One of Scandinavia’s best-known designers, interior designers and graphic artists, Wirkkala didn’t devote himself only to glass, but also to other materials such as wood, porcelain, metal and even plastic. He designed products for renowned companies, e.g. glass for Iittala and series of porcelain pieces for Rosenthal. The banknotes that he designed for the Finnish have been in circulation since the 1950s. But glass was always the special material for Wirkkala, who was fascinated by its optical characteristics and especially by the way it refracts light. Prior to his cooperation with Venini, he had worked almost exclusively with clear glass. But the tradition of Murano’s glassblowers and their rich array of colors inspired him to create pieces with extraordinarily intense hues. This resulted in series such as Coreano or Bolle, which were reissued in a new spectrum of colors in 2012.