In partnership with the Finnish auction house Annmaris, PIASA is organising on Wednesday September 15th, an auction dedicated to 20th century Finnish design. The sale, which includes a number of Paavo Tynell's lighting fixtures, offers a valuable insight into the Scandinavian master's work.
Affectionately nicknamed "the man who lit up Finland", Paavo Tynell is known as the great pioneer of Finnish lighting design.
He is one of the founders and chief designers of Taito Oy - the first industrial producer of lighting in Finland. With the innovation of electricity in the early 20th century, Taito Oy and Tynell developed the thinking and manufacturing of modern lighting solutions in Europe and abroad.
Paavo Tynell made a name for himself in the 1930s and 1940s by working with some of Finland's most renowned architects, including Alvar Aalto. Striving to integrate artificial lighting into modern environments, Tynell's company, Taito Oy, produced luminaires for all of Alvar Aalto's major projects, including the Paimio Sanatorium and the Viipuri Library.
Tynell is particularly appreciated for his participation in Finland House, a design studio in New York that showcases the work of Finnish designers and craftsmen. His elegant brass creations were an immediate success in North America, and he began designing lighting for the prestigious American company Lightolier.
Paavo Tynell (1890-1973)
Model n°10220 - Three ceiling lamps
Estimate: 50 000 / 70 000 €
A master craftsman himself, his designs are derived from a traditional aesthetic with a modern sensibility, mixed with extensive use of perforated and polished brass. Marked by delicacy and softness, his most famous lighting design echo the structures of nature; he skillfully creates sculptural forms reminiscent of tree branches, swirling snowflakes and shells.
Among the pieces offered for sale, the wall sconce estimated at €80,000-120,000, perfectly illustrates the quality of execution, precision of construction and meticulous detail of all the designer's creations.
Paavo Tynell (1890-1973)
Wall light
Estimate: 80 000 / 120 000 €
This graceful reference to vegetation is also found in the exceptional wall light commissioned especially for the Seurahuone Hotel in Kokkola. On a perforated brass cup, long stylised leaves in gold brass are fixed, gracefully imitating the unfolding of a plant.
Despite this meteoric rise, the company was bought out in 1953 and became Idman Taito OY and then Idman Oy; Tynell collaborated with Idman while continuing the American adventure with Lightolier or Litecraft.
Paavo Tynell (1890-1973)
Ceiling lamp
Estimate: 30 000 / 50 000 €
Today, Paavo Tynell's lamps and lighting fixtures are highly sought after by an international clientele of collectors, and prices for his most important pieces have recently skyrocketed at auction.
The work of the designer was rewarded in 1929 at the Barcelona Universal Exhibition and in 1933 at the Milan Triennial, before receiving first prize in the prestigious Good Design Awards in 1951.
