Operated by the Calgary Contemporary Arts Society

Fragile But Strong & Glass-Art-Function
October 12 - November 17, 2000

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Introduction

Functionalism and Beyond
Contemporary Glass and Ceramics of Finland

Fragile But Strong
Works by Brita Flander and Elina Sorainen

Glass-Art-Function
Post-Modernist Glass of Finland

Iittala Glass
Alvar Aalto
Aino Aalto
Tapio Wirkkala
Timo Sarpaneva
Kaj Franck
Markku Salo
Harri Koskinen

His undoubtedly best work, his tall, lancet-like, plain vases - such his Orkidea vase of 1953 - has a cold clarity like the logic of a mathematical equation or the beauty of a mathematical curve.

GLASS - ART - FUNCTION
POST-MODERNIST GLASS OF FINLAND

TIMO SARPANEVA (b. 1926)

A masterly glass artist, whose creativity has been equally applied to the production of decorative and utilitarian wares, Timo Sarpaneva has also designed ceramics, metalware, textiles, graphics, and interiors. A graduate in graphics from the Taideteollinen Keskuskoulu (Central School of Industrial Arts) in Helsinki (1948), Sarpaneva first worked in the area of textiles, producing figurative works designed by him and embroidered by his mother that were awarded a Silver Medal at Milan's IX Triennale in 1951; his Karelia series of simple weaves in close colours won a similar prize in 1957. Sarpaneva began to work in glass in 1950, creating at the Iittala factory a series of smooth rounded sculptures he called Devil's Churns. He has continued to produce sculptural works of great variety, introducing a truly distinctive series blown in wooden molds in 1963. His i-line of fine glass in mist colours, which brought a new elegance and refinement to Iittala's utilitarian wares, was launched in 1956, with Sarpaneva designing all of its coordinated packaging as well as the red trademark that appears on each piece of the continuing line. Sarpaneva opened his own firm in 1962, producing among other designs his Ambiente lines; these were decorative papers (for Rosenlew) and textiles (for Tampella) that were freely painted with a mechanical printing process he developed and which received the International Design Award of the American Institute of Interior Designers in 1969. The Suomi porcelain service he designed for Rosenthal over a period of two years was introduced in 1974.

ORKIDEA VASE (1953)

The two Iittala artists Tapio Wirkkala and Timo Sarpaneva have a lot in common, not only in competing as talented and expert exhibition designers and draftsmen but also in their glassware. But there is an obvious and important difference: while Wirkkala's work shows intuitive natural force, Sarpaneva's gives more considered and intellectual impression. His undoubtedly best work, his tall, lancet-like, plain vases - such his Orkidea vase of 1953 - has a cold clarity like the logic of a mathematical equation or the beauty of a mathematical curve. This may not sound encouraging, but it is not intended as derogatory; the form is certainly not dead - on the contrary, it is intensely alive and changes with each fresh viewpoint, just as a curved lens mirrors the surroundings and breaks them up into ever different pictures as one turns it around. Sarpaneva's Orkidea vase, in its purity, restraint, and consciousness of the material, is among the most outstanding products of Finnish design. This vase dates from 1953 and is typical in its economy of line.

Information for the art shown above:

• Timo Sarpaneva, Orkidea Vase, 1953, Clear glass