Timo Sarpaneva was a Finnish designer, sculptor, and educator best known in the art world for innovative work in glass, which often merged attributes of display art objects with utilitarian designations. While glass remained his most commonly addressed medium, he worked with metal, wood, textiles, and porcelain.
Sarpaneva was born in Helsinki, Finland, in 1926. He studied at the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts from 1945 to 1948, and then at the Taideteollinen Oppilaitos (now Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture) from 1948 to 1951. In 1951, he was hired by the Iittala glassworks, where he worked for the rest of his career.
Sarpaneva was a prolific designer of glass art, both sculpture and functional objects. He pioneered many new methods in glass making, together with the glassblowers of Iittala glassworks. Among the new methods developed was the wet-stick method where spherical spaces within glass are created
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not by blowing, but by protruding a wet stick into the glass mass. The contact with the hot mass causes the water to evaporate whereupon the vapor blows a cavity into the glass.
Sarpaneva's glass designs are characterized by their bold colors, organic shapes, and textured surfaces. He often used traditional Finnish motifs in his work, such as the pine tree and the birch leaf. His designs were also influenced by the work of other artists, such as Pablo Picasso and Jean Arp.
In addition to his work in glass, Sarpaneva also designed furniture, textiles, and jewellery. He was also a talented painter and sculptor. His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world, and he has received numerous awards, including the Pro Finlandia Medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland and the Lunning Prize.
Sarpaneva died in Helsinki in 2006 and is considered one of the most important Finnish designers of the 20th century. His work continues to be admired by collectors and designers around the world.
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