Liisi Beckmann

LIISA BECKMANN (Finland, 1924-2004) for Zanotta.
Armchair "Karelia". 1966.
Expanded polyurethane foam frame. Orange-red leather cover.
This is an edition that is no longer marketed with a premium leather finish. Very rare to see in this finish, usually more shiny.
Impeccable condition, retains its original label. The color is preserved as the first day.
Measurements: 60 x 74 x 80 cm.

The Karelia armchair is undoubtedly Liisi Beckmann's most celebrated piece. Designed in 1966 and produced by Zanotta, the seat and backrest are undulated by a set of tubular meanders in expanded polyurethane foam and initially sheathed in glossy vinyl. The piece shows the influence of Pop Art and became one of Zanotta's cult classics. It would be reissued by the same company in 2007 and exhibited at the Design Museum of the Milan Triennale in 2016. The one we show is a special and rare edition given its premium orange-red leather finish (which is no longer marketed).

Liisi Beckmann was a Finnish designer and artist who worked primarily in Italy from the late 1950s to the late 1970s. Her work is held in the collections of the Moderna Museet in Stockholm and the Design Museum in Helsinki. His work has also been exhibited at the Quadrennial in Rome, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and the Design Museum at the Milan Triennale. His most celebrated design was the Karelia chair, first produced by Zanotta in 1966. Beckmann moved to Milan in 1957, where he worked at the development studio La Rinascente. He then designed objects and furniture for several Italian companies, including the Zanotta furniture company, the Vetreria Vistosi glass company, the Gabbianelli ceramics company and the Valenti metalwork company. At the end of the 1960s, Beckmann moved to Cassano d'Adda, on the outskirts of Milan. In the mid-1970s he gradually withdrew from design and devoted himself to painting and sculpture. During this period he had a solo exhibition at the Galleria di Naviglio in Milan and exhibited his sculptures Liszt and Marconi at the Quadriennale in Rome. Another sculpture from this period, Homo Erectus, is preserved in the Moderna Museet in Stockholm. Beckmann spent the last years of his life in Finland and died in Orimattila at the age of 79. In 2015 a retrospective exhibition of his work was held at Palazzo Berva in Cassano d'Adda.