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100 Years of Finnish Design

The Rafaela and Kaj Forsblom Collection forms the basis of an extensive retrospective of Finnish design, at the Nationalmuseum Design in Stockholm until October 29.

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Comprising some 200 works selected from a private collection, the Hundred Years of Finnish Design exhibition is one of the most thorough and extensive retrospectives on the country’s design yet.

Showing the evolution of design and fine craft in Finland since 1900, the exhibition is curated from the Rafaela and Kaj Forsblom Collection. The collection started in 1999 when Kaj Forsblom gave his wife-to-be, Rafaela Seppälä, a glass bottle by Ristomatti Ratia for Valentine’s Day. The intention behind the collection is to prevent key Finnish design works to be scattered around the world. Rafaela, the daughter of a diplomat, grew up in embassies around the world and her passion for Finnish design history grew from her childhood nostalgia.

“Every piece in our collection has been lovingly chosen,” she says. Highlights include considerable 1950-60s glassware and other artefacts by the likes of Tapio Wirkkala, Aino Aalto, Timo Sarpaneva and Gunnel Nyman, as well as numerous iterations of Alvar Aalto’s iconic Savoy vase. Another focus in the collection is on Paavo Tynell, who set up Taito in 1918, which was the lighting manufacturer preferred by Alvar Aalto. Contemporary work by the likes of Ilkka Suppanen and Kristina Riska further extend the range of the collection.

The exhibition also announces the closure of the temporary Nationalmuseum Design on October 29, which will reopen in its newly renovated location in 2018.

Kaj and Rafaela Forsblom in their home. Photo: Rauno Träskelin
Kaj and Rafaela Forsblom in their home. Photo: Rauno Träskelin
Eliel Saarinen, Suur-Merijoki library clock, Silver, birch, ebony, 1903/1904. Decorative plaque in cooperation with Eric O W Ehrström. Photo: Rauno Träskelin
Eliel Saarinen, Suur-Merijoki library clock, Silver, birch, ebony, 1903/1904. Decorative plaque in cooperation with Eric O W Ehrström. Photo: Rauno Träskelin
Paavo Tynell, Snowflake, Chandelier, brass. Photo: Rauno Träskelin
Paavo Tynell, Snowflake, Chandelier, brass. Photo: Rauno Träskelin
Aino Aalto, Bowl, glass, 1932, Iittala. Photo: Rauno Träskelin
Aino Aalto, Bowl, glass, 1932, Iittala. Photo: Rauno Träskelin
Alvar Aalto, Karhula vase, 1937. Photo: Rauno Träskelin
Alvar Aalto, Karhula vase, 1937. Photo: Rauno Träskelin
Gunnel Nyman, Barokki, Vase/glass, 1946. Riihimäki Glassworks. Photo: Rauno Träskelin
Gunnel Nyman, Barokki, Vase/glass, 1946. Riihimäki Glassworks. Photo: Rauno Träskelin
apio Wirkkala, Leaf in birch plywood, 1954. Photo: Rauno Träskelin
apio Wirkkala, Leaf in birch plywood, 1954. Photo: Rauno Träskelin
Lisa Johansson-Pape, Table lamp, leather, metall, 1950s, Orno. Photo: Rauno Träskelin
Lisa Johansson-Pape, Table lamp, leather, metall, 1950s, Orno. Photo: Rauno Träskelin
Maija Isola, Seireeni, Printed cotton, 1965, Marimekko. Photo: Rauno Träskelin
Maija Isola, Seireeni, Printed cotton, 1965, Marimekko. Photo: Rauno Träskelin
Ristomatti Ratia, Sointu, Bottles, glass, 2003. Photo: Rauno Träskelin
Ristomatti Ratia, Sointu, Bottles, glass, 2003. Photo: Rauno Träskelin
Oiva Toikka, Kiirastuli II, Art object, glass, 2005. Photo: Rauno Träskelin
Oiva Toikka, Kiirastuli II, Art object, glass, 2005. Photo: Rauno Träskelin
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