Tapio Wirkkala At Venini

Among the most important protagonists of Finnish art glassmaking, Tapio Wirkkala (1915-1985) came to Murano in 1965. He had been invited to work with the Venini glassworks by its young director, the architect Ludovico de Santillana, who considered Nordic design to be of a great interest with regard to the relaunching of production internationally.

When Tapio Wirkkala designed his first objects for Venini in the mid-1960s, he was already a figure of worldwide fame, with prominent projects in the various design sectors. Active with the Karhula Iittala firm from 1947, Wirkkala approached his Murano experience enthusiastically, being able also to count on the excellent ability of the master glassmakers with whom he established an extraordinary rapport.

Richly illustrated, this work aims at documenting the entire art-glass endeavour of Tapio Wirkkala at the Venini glassworks.