Yrjö Kukkapuro, a famous Finnish designer whose Finnish postmodern style chairs decorated Finnish waiting rooms, offices and living rooms, the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Victoria and Albert Museums in London, passed away at the age of 91.
Kukkapuro passed away on Saturday at his home outside Helsinki. His daughter, Isa Kukkapuro-Enbom, confirmed in an email on Sunday and in a statement from studio Kukkapuro, where she is curator. The cause of death has not been revealed.
“We sat in chairs designed by almost every Finn – at a subway station, at a bank, at a school or a library,” the studio said in a news release. “Yrjökukkapuro never stopped designing new ideas and coming up with them. Until the end, he contemplated the concept of his new chair. The plan was clear in his mind. The assistant didn't have time to draw a picture of the chair.”
Over a career spanning over 70 years, Kukkapuro's chair has been praised for its comfort, functionalism, ergonomics and design, featuring names such as Ateljee, Karuselli-Chair, Long Chair, and his most famous experiments. It was done.
The experimental chair, designed in 1982, was considered an avant-garde, but was ultimately commercially successful and an important turning point for postmodern style furniture. The experiment includes a brightly coloured wavy arm, a back and bottom of the fabric, and an enclosed angled sheet despite the flat frame on the ground. It will be available.
Although early production ceased in the 1990s, European furniture design brand HEM asked Kukkapuro in 2021 for permission to recreate the scale and construction with a slight adjustment.
“We are saddened by the news that Yrjö has passed away, and our thoughts are with his family,” said Petrus Palmér, founder and CEO of Hem. “He was a pioneer in furniture design and showed that an unsigned approach was the only way to achieve a lasting legacy.”
The experimental chair was sold for up to 2,399 euros ($2,479) on the hem website on Sunday. Here the description is called “timeless, bold, and as attractive as today.”
“In the experimental chair, Kukkapro tried to add art to functionalism and to meet important needs as well as to satisfy romantic tastes,” the description reads. “The result is an incredible, authentic, 20th century design hero.”
Kukkapuro designs family studios and homes, featuring wave-shaped roofs and floor-to-ceiling glass windows. It was built in the late 1960s for him and his wife, Ilmeri Kukkapro, an artist who passed away in 2022, and is set to become a museum next year.
