Find many varieties of an authentic tapio wirkkala Finland available at 1stDibs. A tapio wirkkala Finland — often made from
glass,
metal and
wood — can elevate any home. There are 408 variations of the antique or vintage tapio wirkkala Finland you’re looking for, while we also have 1 modern editions of this piece to choose from as well. You’ve searched high and low for the perfect tapio wirkkala Finland — we have versions that date back to the 20th Century alongside those produced as recently as the 21st Century are available. Each tapio wirkkala Finland bearing
Scandinavian Modern,
Mid-Century Modern or
Modern hallmarks is very popular. Many designers have produced at least one well-made tapio wirkkala Finland over the years, but those crafted by
Tapio Wirkkala,
Iittala and
Kultakeskus Oy are often thought to be among the most beautiful.
A tapio wirkkala Finland can differ in price owing to various characteristics — the average selling price 1stDibs is $1,774, while the lowest priced sells for $195 and the highest can go for as much as $33,728.
Along with architect Alvar Aalto, the designer Tapio Wirkkala was Finland’s leading contributor to the Scandinavian interpretation of modernism in the mid-20th century. Prolific and innovative, Wirkkala excelled in a wide range of fields, including glass, furniture, porcelain, jewelry and tableware. The hallmark of his talent was an ability to impart a craft aesthetic based on natural forms — leaves, ice, bubbles, birds — to industrially produced designs.
A native of Helsinki, Wirkkala studied at the national School of Applied Arts and took up a career in graphic design. After serving in the Finnish army during World War II, he joined the glassmaking firm Iittala, an association that would continue to the end of his life. Wirkkala learned every aspect of glassmaking in keeping with his belief that an artist-designer should be involved in all stages of production. His best-known works for Iittala are vases and drinking vessels that resemble either carved ice or icicles. In 1956, Wirkkala began a long relationship with the porcelain maker Rosenthal, for whom he designed elegant table pieces, such as the Finlandia coffee service and the biomorphic Pollo vases.
House Beautiful magazine declared Wirkkala’s Leaf platter the “most beautiful object” of 1951. (The acclaim led to his brief employment stint with industrial designer Raymond Loewy in New York.) That platter was one of the first designs Wirkkala made using laminated sheets of plywood sanded to a smooth surface that resembles an abstract leaf. It would go on to become a motif in many Wirkkala furniture pieces — most notably in inlaid coffee tables for Asko — and in a sense these are the works most emblematic of his personal aesthetic.
Wirkkala was a traditionalist in many ways, but he had a modernist’s practical approach, incorporating his leaf-like spirals into simple, functional objects. That is the core attraction of Wirkkala’s designs: They stand out with a striking, sculptural energy yet blend in as part of a warm and comfortable decor.
Find vintage Tapio Wirkkala furniture on 1stDibs.