tAPIO wIRKKALA FOR ROSENTHAL
The cooperation between Tapio Wirkkala and Rosenthal created a line for the porcelain industry.
The director of the German Rosenthal porcelain factory, Philip Rosenthal, began to reform her company in the 1950s. He hired internationally known artists, who were tasked with transforming Rosenthal into a more interesting company in the eyes of customers
Philip Rosenthal (1916-2001) said that he managed to persuade the well-known French designer Raymond Loewyn to work for Rosenthal. At that time, this had an office in New York, and here one of Loewy’s assistants was Finnish Tapio Wirkkala.
Wirkkala was not an unknown greatness either. Wirkkala’s works received wide attention at the Milan Triennale in 1951 and 1954. In addition to Wirkkala, the group of artists joined from the 60s, e.g. the Danish Björn Wiinblad and a little later the Finns Timo Sarpaneva and Nanny Still.
From 1961, the production of the group of artists was realized as Studio-Linie products and was based especially on the artistic contribution of Tapio Wirkkala.
Tapio Wirkkala’s first work for the Rosenthal factories was the Finlandia tableware produced for the Thomas brand in 1957, whose unusual, smooth extreme lines and well-thought-out details still speak volumes. This was the start of an intensive and successful collaboration, during which many products were born that, like the Variation, Compostion, Polygon and Century models, marked Rosenthal’s Studioline program and steered the table setting market.
The Variation model, which combined black and white porcelain, was accepted into the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Century-tableware belongs to the permanent collections of the Georges Pompidou Center in Paris.
During Wirkkala’s nearly 30-year working period, he designed eight of Rosenthal’s 27 tableware in production, and he also designed seven tableware for the Thomas factories belonging to the Rosentahl Group.
The significance of Wirkkala can be understood when it is stated that Rosenthal’s other 19 Studio-linie dishes were produced by 12 different designers. In addition to tabaleware and cutlery,Wirkkala designed more than two hundred decorative objects.
Wirkkala’s production for Rosenthal almost matches the production he designed for Iittala. Wirkkala tableware received international recognition thanks to several design awards. Some of the decorative objects he designed for Rosenthal won a prestigious gold medal at the Florence Exhibitions.
The shape must not be covered
Philip Rosenthal has described Tapio Wirkkala’s products as “aesthetically perfect and harmonious in all aspects – both functionally and technically. They have their individuality and great independence at the same time.”
Several artists who worked for Rosenthal gave decorative motifs to the objects designed by Wirkkala, such as his spouse Rut Bryk (e.g. Century Cumulus, Polygon Winterreise, Polygon Rhodos) Gianni Versace, Björn Wiinblad, Marcello Monardini, Emilio Pucci, etc. Wirkkala also gave his objects decorative motifs, although he himself did not like them; “patterns covers form”.
The methods of porcelain surface treatment and different relief surfaces were, however, Wirkkala’s favorite way to create restrained decorations that utilize the properties of the material. Wirkkala took e.g. the etching used in the surface treatment of glass was also used in the manufacture of porcelain, and thus a new surface called silk mat was born. Wirkkala skillfully combined glossy and silk-matte surfaces to create different motifs or to emphasize the shape of the object.
The final design of the objects required, in addition to an open-minded design idea, knowledge of the material and the manufacturing process, where the influence of his wife Rut Bryk was certainly visible. In this way, timeless objects were born, in which simple forms tested in use were combined with refined elegance.
The thinness of the porcelain and the ability to transmit light meant a lot
“Tapio was not a man of many words,” said Philip Rosenthal in the book Tapio Wirkkala – eye, hand and thought. “But what he planned corresponded to our views. He knew a lot about other ceramic materials and glass. Their essence and production technique interested him. He did design work not only with his mind but also with his heart and thought it was important to take the material into account,” says Philip Rosenthal about his collaboration with Wirkkala at a time when 10,000 people worked at Rosenthal’s factories.
The pure whiteness of porcelain has fascinated designers throughout the ages. “Thin outer layer, emphasizing light transmission and the variation of shiny and matt surface zones were important aspects for Tapio Wirkkala. This is how the inherent delicacy of the material came to the fore. As a sculptor, Wirkkala preferably made the prototypes himself in order to test their suitability with his own hands.
According to Philip Rosenthal, Tapio Wirkkala’s work was characterized by a certain hilarity, especially when he was drawing. He was cheerful in a quiet way, sometimes mildly sarcastic irony flared up, and when he was pushing through his ideas, he enjoyed the balance of power. In his letters, Wirkkala alternately used the expression “joy of work” or “joy of life”.
Wirkkala faithful guide
The past may have inspired Tapio Wirkkala, but primarily the beauty of nature represented to him the measure of the work’s worth, Wirkkala drew with his left hand with certainty and speed, often changed the proportions and tested possible variations. He demanded a lot from himself.
The collaboration between Tapio Wirkkala and Rosenthal’s factories continued until the artist’s death in 1985. Philip Rosenthal noted at the turn of the millennium that Wirkkala set quality criteria for the company. He took the factory forward and that the factory owes him thanks. “We learned a lot from him, because he was not only a fighter by our side, but a faithful guide. „
The production of porcelain objects designed by Tapio Wirkkala has generally been discontinued. Rosenthal went bankrupt at the beginning of the 2000s and porcelain production is continued today by another owner. Since 2000, Rosenthal has made a few sets of objects from Wirkkala’s production to celebrate, for example, the Studio-Line brand’s 50th anniversary in 2011 and the Helsinki Design Capital Year 2012. Of Wirkkala’s products, Rosenthal’s productions only include the so-called Paper bag vase.
