| The Kaj Franck Design Prize 2007 has been awarded to ceramic artist Kati Tuominen-Niittylä (born 1947). |
The recipient of the Kaj Franck Design Prize was announced on December 13 2007 at Design Forum in Helsinki.
Kati Tuominen-Niittylä began working at the Arabia factory in 1980. Her minimalist and timeless language of form appears in numerous serially manufactured products and one-off works. One of Arabia’s most recent success stories is the KoKo series of products, a result of Tuominen-Niittylä's and Kristina Riska’s creative cooperation. Prior to the Kaj Franck Design Prize of 2007 Kati Tuominen-Niittylä has received the Grand Prix, Honourable Mention and the Gold Medal in the Mino Ceramics Competition in Japan. She is a charter member of the Arabia Art Department Society (established in November 2003). The main idea of the new society is to maintain and continue the cultural heritage of the Art Department, which was originally established in 1932.
The Kaj Franck Design Prize has become a distinction highly valued by design professionals, the media and the general public. It is awarded according to the decision of a special prize jury. The jury noted that during her long time career Kati Tuominen-Niittylä has created versatile ceramic art and design involving interplay, from unique archaic art objects to playful modern serial products such as the KoKo series.
Prototypes, 1984
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Storybirds, 1993 Oy Arabia Ab
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Gluck pitchers, 1993 Oy Iittala Ab
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Koko tableware service, 2005 Oy Iittala Ab (with Kristina Riska)
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Pot from the series Iron Age, 2004
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Pot from the series Iron Age, 2004
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Kaj Franck Prize was established in 1992 to honour the legacy of Finnish designer Kaj Franck (1911–89). He was, in his capacity as a designer and artistic director in industry (Arabia and the Nuutajärven glassworks) and as a teacher at the University of Art and Design, Helsinki. Franck was the "conscience of Finnish design". Functionality and compatibility were the underlying concepts of his streamlined utility articles. His best-known designs are Teema dishes (Arabia) and Kartio glassware (Iittala), which have become classics of modern design. His several awards included a Gold Medal (1951), the Diplome d'honneur (1954) and the Grand Prix (1957) at the Milan Triennials, and he also received the Compasso d'Oro (1957), the Lunning Award and the Finnish State Design Prize, among other distinctions.
Exhibition:
The Kaj Franck Design Prize 2007 – Kati Tuominen-Niittylä
from December 14 2007 to January 14 2008
Design Forum Finland, Space1
Erottajankatu 7, Helsinki, Finland
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