Deb Bluestein

Professor Oiva Toikka is a Finnish glass designer. Born in Viipuri (Vyborg), he is renowned for his designs for glassware for Iittala the Finnish design company. Originally trained in ceramics, he took up glass design later in life. Along with his glassware designs, Toikka is best known after 1973 for his designs for the iittala ‘glass birds’ series. Toikka’s designs are produced at the glass factory at Nuutajärvi.

iittala_birds_2016_2 — Collection of Birds by Toikka

Toikka has also enjoyed success in a number of other creative outlets. He has worked as a stage and costume designer, generally working with Finnish director Lisbeth Landefort although in recent years, he has also been associated with productions by the Finnish National Opera. Through the years, he has also contributed textile designs to the Marimekko collections from time to time.
Jack Dawson, who has studied Toikka’s work tends to view it within the context of general trends in glass design as opposed to a strictly Nordic sensibility. Toikka himself has sought to look beyond his own era and has instead harkened back to an earlier aesthetic. When asked to define his work, Toikka has said: ”Baroque is exactly the right word to describe my work – after all, one of the word’s original meanings is ”an irregular pearl.”
Toikka’s style deviates from the streamlined aesthetic of Scandinavian design in a rich, imaginative and bold way. He has been awarded some of the most prestigious design accolades in the world, including the lunning Prize, Pro Finlandia Medal, World Glass Now Award 85, Kaj Franck Design Prizw and the Prince Eugen Medal.

Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988) was one of the twentieth century’s most important and critically acclaimed sculptors. Through a lifetime of artistic experimentation, he created sculptures, gardens, furniture and lighting designs, ceramics, architecture, and set designs. His work, at once subtle and bold, traditional and modern, set a new standard for the reintegration of the arts.

“All that you require to start a home are a room, a tatami, and Akari.”

With the warm glow of light cast through hand-made paper on a bamboo frame, Isamu Noguchi utilized traditional Japanese materials to bring modern design to the home.

Like the beauty of falling leaves and the cherry blossom, Noguchi wrote, Akari are “poetic, ephemeral, and tentative.” And he was fond of saying, “All that you require to start a home are a room, a tatami, and Akari. ”

Noguchi Floor Lamp, Model 14A. Currently available at Modele’s.

The Making of Akari Light Sculpture

The fabrication of Akari in Japan at Ozeki Company since 1951 follows the traditional methods for Japanese Gifu lanterns. Each Akari is hand crafted beginning with the making of washi paper from the inner bark of the mulberry tree. Bamboo ribbing is stretched across wooden molded forms, which resembles sculpture.

The washi paper is cut into wide or narrow strips depending upon the size and shape of the lamp and then glued onto both sides of the framework. Once the glue has dried and the shape is set the internal wooden form is disassembled and removed. The outcome is a resilient paper form, which can be collapsed and packed flat for shipping. The Akari package includes Noguchi’s patented metal wire stretcher and support system.

A genuine Akari light will have a stamped red sun and half moon with Japan written under the symbol on the shade. Next to the symbol will be the signature “I. Noguchi”. The lamps age gracefully due to the quality of the paper.

Author: Deb Bluestein

Birds By Toikka

Isamu Noguchi Floor Lamp at Modele’s!!