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| Kaj Franck |
In 1945, he was employed as a designer by the Arabia porcelain factory in Helsinki, and was the head of Arabia’s model design department from 1946 to 1961. Franck also designed for the Nuutajärvi glassworks from 1950 to 1976 and served as the factory’s artistic director from 1951 to 1976.
Kaj Franck was also an instructor at the Institute of Applied Art from 1945 to 1960, and senior instructor and artistic director of the school from 1960 to 1968. He held the position of artist professor from 1973 to 1978.
In his work as a designer, Kaj Franck sought simple, practical and timeless forms. He was a proponent of anonymity in the design of utility items. In a 1966 article, he noted that ”an object must survive upon its own conditions instead of the designer’s name, and design is an important part of those conditions.” In unique pieces, however, Franck felt that the designer’s name should be seen.
Kaj Franck renewed the Finnish tradition of tableware design with his Kilta service, which was made by Arabia from 1953 until 1975. Kilta reappeared in 1981, revised to meet current requirements, as the Teema collection. One of Kaj Franck’s best known collections of glassware is Kartio (1958-1975), which is also in renewed production.
Franck participated in numerous exhibitions both in Finland and abroad, winning numerous prizes and honors from the 1950s through the 1980s. In 1992, Design Forum Finland established the Kaj Franck Prize, awarded annually to a designer working in the spirit of Kaj Franck.
From finnishdesign.fi
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| Pitcher violettendencies.com |
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| Kartio glassware krrb.com |
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| Kremlin Bells decanter artfact.com |
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| Vase home-and-garden.com |
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| Morning in Athens glass curtain wright20.com |
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| Bullseye bowls starkeld.com |
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| Origami server violettendencies.com |
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| Flattened Prism vase burgh-le-marshfurnishings.co.uk |
I like the Bullseye bowls. They'd look good with those ashtrays and lighters I saw the other day.
ReplyDeleteI like the shape of those too. Very cool!
DeleteWow! We bought one of those origami trays at an estate sale for a buck! Thanks for the info on Kaj Franck.
ReplyDeleteWow is right!!! Lucky you. I think those origami servers are fantastic. V&M has one listed at $325, so you got a steal.
DeleteNice pitcher. We have one with different decoration, plus a nice bowl from the same era. See http://theridoureport.blogspot.com/2011/03/kaj-franck-100-years.html
ReplyDeleteI just found a green and white version of the pitcher at a flea market. Any idea of a value on it? I will be on the lookout for more of his work in my travels about. I love it!
ReplyDeleteThat's always such a difficult question to answer in this business, since prices run from one extreme to the other, sometimes rather arbitrarily. I'd suggest that you ask the nice folks at modish.net. They're the pottery experts, in my opinion.
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