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Designer
Ilmari Tapiovaara
Yrjö Ilmari Tapiovaara (7 September 1914 – 31 January 1999) was a Finnish designer noted for furnishings and textiles. Artek says he graduated from the Department of Furniture Design at the Central School of Applied Arts in Helsinki in…
Biography
Background
Yrjö Ilmari Tapiovaara (7 September 1914 – 31 January 1999) was a Finnish designer noted for furnishings and textiles. Artek says he graduated from the Department of Furniture Design at the Central School of Applied Arts in Helsinki in 1937, worked as an assistant at Le Corbusier's office in Paris and became artistic director and designer at Asko Oy.
Signature Style
Artek says he refused to stay within the bounds of traditional furniture design, made everything from wooden sculptures to film posters and sauna stoves, and kept improving objects such as the universal chair through iteration.
Notable Works
Domus Chair and Domus Lounge Chair (1946), Lukki Chair (1951), Trienna Table (1954), Mademoiselle Lounge Chair and Rocking Chair (1956), Aslak Chair (1958) and the Kiki Bench, Sofa, Lounge Chair and Low Table (1960), as listed on Artek's designer page.
Legacy
Wikipedia says furniture based on his sketches was still produced into the twenty-first century; Artek calls him an influential public figure and spokesperson for his profession.
Collections
Products
Kiki Lounge Chair
Ilmari Tapiovaara's compact steel-framed lounge chair from the Kiki Collection, 1960
Kiki Sofa
Ilmari Tapiovaara's steel-framed Kiki Sofa for Artek, 2- or 3-seater, 1960
Mademoiselle Rocking Chair
Tapiovaara’s 1956 solid-birch rocking chair, shaped through Finnish tradition and modern design.
Aslak Chair
A stackable beech chair sketched in 1946 and brought into production by technical advances in 1958.
Mademoiselle Lounge Chair
A solid-birch lounge chair joining Finnish chair tradition with Tapiovaara’s modern approach.
Lukki Chair
A stackable 1951 chair combining tubular steel with pressed birch plywood for study and dining.
Domus Lounge Chair
Ilmari Tapiovaara's Domus Lounge Chair with a one-piece plywood seat and back, 1946
Domus Chair
Ilmari Tapiovaara's 1946 stackable armchair with short arms, in birch or oak, made in Finland
