A number of never-before-seen works will be offered at the Finnish auction house Annmaris on 22 November during their Design & Luxury sale. Iconic designers will be represented with furniture, lighting fixtures, and arts and crafts.
The Virkkala Clubhouse, a modernist building designed by the architect Gösta Cajannus, was inaugurated on the initiative of Peter Forsström in 1945. Forsström was the founder of the lime factory Lohjan Kalkkitehdas OY in Lohja, Finland, which he ran for 65 years.
To complement the modern building in Lohja, Forsström wanted to decorate with state-of-the-art lighting. Paavo Tynell and Gunnel Nyman designed the lamps together with the aid of the luminaire manufacturer Taito Oy. The resulting model was impressive, measuring over two meters high with a diameter of one meter.
At the time, Gunnel Nyman was a renowned designer known especially noted for her glass art. In 1937 she was awarded a silver medal at the World's Fair in Paris, where she exhibited furniture, lighting and glass designs.
The huge ceiling lamps that Tynell and Nyman designed for Virkkala Clubhouse were the most high-quality works that Taito Oy ever produced. With their massive brass structures and heavy glass screens, skilled craftsmanship was required to make them. The lamps are an excellent example of Tynell's ability to blend high-quality craftsmanship with mechanical manufacturing. Gunnel Nyman's touch is seen in the stylish shape and timeless design, expressed in the saffron-coloured filigree glass that creates a warm, glowing light.
Peter Forsström was not the only one who appreciated Tynell and Nyman's work. His wife Margit ordered another fixture for the building, the Fountain lamp model. A few years later, a similar ceiling lamp was designed for Finland House in New York, which opened in 1947.
One of the most important periods in Paavo Tynell's career was the span of 1945 to 1947, when he designed the majority of the interiors for the famous Finland House. Although Tynell had been a household name in his native Finland, he now received international recognition.
In 1946, Gunnel Nyman became head of the Finnish luminaire company IDMAN. Unfortunately, she passed away in 1948 and several of her pieces were never produced. Despite this, her work remained popular and in 1951 she was posthumously awarded several prizes at the Milan Triennial.
The lamps designed for Virkkala Clubhouse were very important to the Finnish luminaire industry, which peaked in the decade from 1937 to 1947. During their Design & Luxury sale, Annmaris will offer all luminairies that were part of the Virkkala Clubhouse interior.
In addition to Paavo Tynell and Gunnel Nyman, legends such as Tapio Wirkkala, Alvar Aalto and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe will be represented in the catalogue. The carefully curated selection offers many works that have not previously been presented at auction, making the sale even more exciting.
In the catalogue you will find both furniture and decor created by the Finnish architect and designer Eliel Saarinen. Here you can read the story of how Saarinen changed the style ideal of the whole world during the 20th century.
Ilmari Tapiovaara was a Finnish designer who created furnishings with a modernist and functionalist expression, often in bentwood and moulded veneer. After practising at Le Corbusier's studio in Paris, Tapiovaara became the artistic director of Asko Oy, which at the time was Finland's largest furniture manufacturer. For Asko, he designed, among other things, the shelving unit on offer at Annmaris.
As a 22-year-old, Birger Kaipiainen was employed by the Finnish ceramics company Arabia. There, Kaipiainen designed everything from tableware to sculptures and reliefs. Among his most popular objects were his decorative dishes, often covered with fruit motifs and or inspired by Byzantine church art.
About thirty pieces of jewellery will be offered, from brands and designers such as Bvlgari, Vhernier, Kalevala Koru and Björn Weckström. The latter began his career as a jewellery designer in the late 1950s, when he opened his own workshop. Only a few years later, Weckström began designing for Lapponia. Weckström's jewellery is characterised by matte surfaces, uncut semi-precious stones and asymmetrical shapes inspired by nature.
The auction also offers several high-quality paintings by artists such as Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Gunnar Berndtsson, Juhani Linnovaara and Reidar Särestöniemi. The starting points in Särestöniemi's art were the landscapes of Lapland as well as the myths and stories of the region. His work is characterised by imagery of bogs, mountains, grouse, lynx and reindeer. Colours played a central role in Särestöniemi's work and he drew inspiration from European modernism, Russian art and ancient cave paintings. The oil painting offered by Annmaris is one of the artist's most characteristic works and depicts a birch forest in winter.
The Design & Luxury auction will commence on 22 November at 7pm EET, with live online bidding.
