Current Special Exhibition

This is the first retrospective exhibition in Japan for Finnish designer and artist Tapio Wirkkala (1915-1985).

In 1946, Wirkkala was catapulted into the limelight by winning the Iittala design competition and was invited to work at Iittala as a designer where he worked for about 40 years. Like his wife Rut Bryk, a ceramic artist, Wirkkala loved the tranquility of Lapland, and the mysteries of life and the movement of nature inspired him to create masterpieces such as “Ultima Thule” (Latin for “the northernmost point in the world”).

Wirkkala’s field of design extends beyond glass to include porcelain, silverware, jewelry, lighting, banknote, furniture, graphics, and space. The highlight of Wirkkala’s work is the sophisticated form he creates by making numerous drawings and prototypes, working with a variety of materials, and using his keen tactile sense and vision. In addition, his glass objects with mythological motifs and objects made with the plywood he developed called “Rhythmic Plywood” reveal the face of an artist different from that of a product designer.

This exhibition will feature approximately 300 carefully selected products and objects from the EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art, the Tapio Wirkkala Rut Bryk Foundation, and the Collection Kakkonen, as well as photographs and drawings (copies) to explore the delicate and dynamic Wirkkala’s world as a designer and a sculptor, celebrating the 110^th anniversary of his birth and the fortieth anniversary of his death.