Yrjö Kukkapuro’s biography
Isa Kukkapuro’s book Sininen ovi (The blue door) is a biography of Yrjö Kukkapuro. The story travels from Vyborg in the thirties to the 21st century and follows to life of Yrjö Kukkapuro, the great modernist of Finnish furniture design. The book tells the story of the man behind the chairs.
Language: Finnish
245 pages
Author: Isa Kukkapuro-Enbom
Graphic design: Ilona Ilottu / Dog Design
Publisher: Dodo Oy (ISBN: 978-952-68424-2-4)
Buy the book
Online: Emma Shop, Finnish Design Shop
From store: Akateeminen, Artek, Design Museum Shop, Nide Bookshop
Limited edition: Alnus Poster
The minimalist Alnus Poster, depicting a simple "pixelated" chair, was created by Tapani Aartomaa for Finnish design legend Yrjö Kukkapuro. Although it might seem logical the other way around, the poster came before the actual, physical chair: graphic designer Aartomaa designed the poster in 1993 and only after that did Kukkapuro begin turning it into a seat. Complete with colourful, laminated legs, the corresponding chair is a rare collector's item that was only manufactured as a limited edition of 39 pieces.
The relaunched Alnus Poster is part of a fundraising campaign aiming to develop Irmeli and Yrjö Kukkapuro's studio in Kauniainen, Finland, into a museum. Only a limited batch of 250 posters is available.
Buy poster
Pikkukeinu Rocking chair
Yrjö Kukkapuro designed the small rocking chair for her daughter in 1959. Now for the first time, very limited edition of 20 rocking chairs has been manufactured.
Pikkukeinu is part of the fundraising campaign aiming to develop Irmeli and Yrjö Kukkapuro's studio in into a museum.
Inquiries
Yrjö Kukkapuro – Magic Room is an exhibition marking the occasion of the designer’s 90th birthday, presenting his iconic designs alongside his greatest long-term source of inspiration – art.
Magic Room highlights parallels between Kukkapuro’s designs and modern and postmodern art. The designer's most enduring source inspiration was his spouse, the printmaker Irmeli Kukkapuro (1934–2022). The exhibition architecture is based on the Magic Room concept developed by Kukkapuro in the 1980s, which displays furniture in the form of an installation using various structures and lighting effects.