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| Birger Kaipiainen |
His mother contacted a friend at the Ateneum's Central School for Applied Arts, and Kaipiainen was enrolled. While studying there, he balked at the teaching of functionalism and refused to strip his work of all decoration.
In 1937 he took a position in the Arabia art department, where he very soon distinguished himself. He worked for Arabia until the end of 1953, when he moved to Sweden to work briefly for Rörstrand. That company was supportive of his art and arranged an exhibition trip to New York for him in 1955. During this period, he began to use vivid colors and was strongly influenced by Surrealism. In 1958 he returned to Finland and went back to work for Arabia. He officially retired in 1981, but he continued to work almost daily at his studio at the Arabia factory. He died at the end of a working day on July 18, 1988.
In 1937 he took a position in the Arabia art department, where he very soon distinguished himself. He worked for Arabia until the end of 1953, when he moved to Sweden to work briefly for Rörstrand. That company was supportive of his art and arranged an exhibition trip to New York for him in 1955. During this period, he began to use vivid colors and was strongly influenced by Surrealism. In 1958 he returned to Finland and went back to work for Arabia. He officially retired in 1981, but he continued to work almost daily at his studio at the Arabia factory. He died at the end of a working day on July 18, 1988.
His best-known ranges for Arabia are the Paratiisi and Apila dishware collections. Apila was reintroduced into the Arabia collection in 2006. Kaipiainen, called "the prince of ceramics" by his peers, won a Grand Prix at the 1960 Milan Trienniale for a group of bead birds. He is given credit for playing a major part in earning Finland world recognition and respect in the field of modern applied art.
From kansallisbiografica.fi, finnishdesignshop.us and deconet.com
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| Apila dinnerware scope.ne.jp |
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| Paratiisi tureen with lid finnishdesignshop.co |
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| Sunnantai oval plate kuppi.jp |
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| Ravenna cup and saucer 005.upp.so-net.ne.jp |
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| Iridescent art plate kuppi.jp |
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| Relief suomenpankki.fi |
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| Art plate jacksons.se |
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| Beaded art plate bukowskis.com |
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| Beaded bird askart.com |
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| Table clock bukowskis.com |
Indeed the blue and orange plate have captured my heart.....
ReplyDeleteI figured some of his work would win you over immediately. :)
DeleteI'm not into ceramics but that interesting beaded bird caught my eye.
ReplyDeleteI usually like very plain ceramics, but some of his bead work caught my eye too.
DeleteSo cute- super mod! I must be old because in many ways, these designs don't look that vintagey to me.
ReplyDeleteI think that's what fascinates me most about much of the design from the 20th century. It's timeless. Considering that Kaipiainen started to design in 1937 and most of his most popular work was done in the 50s, 60s and early 70s, most of it is from 40-60 years old, yet much of it looks like it could have been made today. Apparently Arabia thought so too, since they reissued the Apila line in 2006.
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