Tappio Wirkkala

TAPIO WIRKKALA (Hanko, Finland, 1915-Helsinki, 1985).
Vase model 502.1 from the “Bolle” (Bubbles) series. Original design from 1966.
Murano glass blown with the incalmo technique.
1983 edition.
Published in “Tapio Wirkkala at Venini”, editor Skira, p. 149.
Signed and dated on the base.
Measurements: 23 x 13 cm.
The popular “Bolle” series, which in Spanish translates as “Bubbles,” is one of the most famous and important series by acclaimed designer Tapio Wirkkala. It consists of vases with evocative shapes: three with a flattened globular body and one with an oval body (no. 502) and a second group of three bottle-shaped vases, with pronounced and rounded shoulders and larger than the first (no. 503). They are vases made of thin transparent glass in two colors joined using the incalmo technique, with the exception of No. 503.0 which has three colors. The series ran between 1966 and 1967 and was illustrated for the first time at the Venini Glass Shop. Very sophisticated colors and combinations were used that included both delicate tones such as tolpa and amethyst or talpa and aquamarine. Also bright tones like green and tea yellow or red and pagliesque. Around the mid-1970s the number of models was reduced to five, excluding no. 502.0 and n. 502.3 of the catalog.
Model 502.1 from the Bolle ('Bubbles') series transforms air into matter in two different chromatic zones physically united with the incalmo technique: the fusion of two blown shapes.
Tapio Wirkkala was a multi-talented design genius, widely considered a leading figure of modern Finnish industrial art. A multifaceted artist, his art ranges from glass, furniture and product design to sculpture and urban planning. Wirkkala exhibited all over the world, but was a recluse by nature. His favorite place was a place so remote in the deep forests of central Finland that helicopters delivered prototypes to his cabin, since no car could reach it. It was in nature that he found his much-loved solitude and inspiration for the forms that industry could produce or works of art could create. That same year, the director of the Venini glassworks offered him a collaboration with his company. Present on numerous occasions in Murano between the end of 1965 and 1970 and again in the early 1980s, Wirkkala progressively gained confidence in both the filigree technique and the "discovery" of color. He stood out for his use of the incalmo technique to create polychrome objects in transparent glass that achieved notable commercial success. Throughout his incredibly productive career, Wirkkala received numerous awards, including three gold medals at the Milan Triennale, the Lunning Prize, the Pro Finland Medal, and the Prince Eugen Medal. Awards and distinctions: 1st and 2nd place, Bank of Finland Banknote Design Competition 1947, 4 prizes, Olympic Stamp Design 1951, for the 1952 Summer Olympics, 3 Grand Prix at the 9th Milan Triennale, 1951, 3 Grand Prize, at the 10th Milan Triennale, 1954, Lunning Prize 1951, Order of the Lion of Finland - medal 1955, 1st place, Universal Exhibition in Brussels 1957, Medal of the year 1958 of the Society of Industrial Arts, Grand Prize and Medal Gold, Milan 1960, Silver Medal, Milan 1963., Domus Golden Obelisk. Milan 1963, Gold Medal of the President of Italy, Faenza International Ceramics Competition 1963, 1966, 1967, 1969 and 1973, Vicenza International Prize 1963, 1966 and 1967, Honorary Royal Designer of Industry. London 1964, Honorary Prize of the Finnish Cultural Foundation 1968, Honorary Doctorate, Royal College of Arts, London 1971, Honorary Member of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, London 1971, Honorary Academician of the Academy of Finland in 1972, Medal of the Teosto organization for Creative Work 1980, Prince Eugen Medal. Stockholm 1980. Tapio Wirkkala landed in Murano in 1965.