Finnish ceramicist Birger Kaipiainen defied post-war minimalism with rich decoration

Contemporaries remember Birger Kaipiainen as an enigmatic gentleman—a bit of a dandy who dressed in a brown velvet suit and walked with a cane. Upon graduating in 1937, Kaipiainen joined Finnish ceramics company Arabia’s art department and worked there for fifty years. Although the state of Finland granted him an artist’s pension in 1981 that would have sustained him for the rest of his life, he continued working as a freelancer until his death.

Birger Kaipiainen created ceramic art at Arabia’s art department for nearly fifty years.

Kaipiainen’s work Harlekiini ja nymfi (‘Harlequin and nymph’) from 1944 depicts his own profile.

The wall relief Kolme sulotarta (‘Three Graces’) is from 1952.

Form and ornamentation merged into one in Kaipiainen’s ceramic art. He mostly created unique ceramic pieces but also designed a few products over the years. Arabia’s desire to mass-produce products did not appeal to him at all.

In the 1950s, critics described Kaipiainen’s pearly ladies and ceramic beauties as mystical, romantic, and decadent—implying they were questionable works for a man to create. Nevertheless, these designs found their buyers.

Kaipiainen’s wallpaper design Ken on kiuruista kaunein (‘Who Is the Most Beautiful of the Larks’) dates back to the late 1950s.

Helmikuovi ('Pearl Curlew'), 1960.

Kukkapuu ('Flower Tree') represents the sweet decorativeness of the 1960s.

Kaipiainen’s works borrowed imagery from the world of fairy tales and fantasy, and they were romantic and rich in color.

“Chopin loved violets, and I love Chopin,” Kaipiainen revealed in an interview.

He frequently incorporated blue violets here and there, even in his few designs intended for industrial production, which have become classics. The poetic Kiurujen yö (‘The Night of the Larks’) from 1958, featuring violets and birds, is now Finland’s most famous wallpaper pattern.

The most grandiose work of his career was the over nine meters wide and four and a half meters high Orvokkimeri (‘Sea of Violets’). Kaipiainen created it for the 1967 Montreal Expo, and it now resides in the Tampere City Council chamber.

The Kiurujen yö (‘The Night of the Larks’) wallpaper pattern, designed in the late 1950s, is still produced by Pihlgren and Ritola.

The Paratiisi (‘Paradise’) tableware is one of Kaipiainen’s few industrially produced works. The set has been in production since 1969. In 1988, the Faience was replaced with stoneware, and the oval plates became round.

Kaipiainen’s penchant for ornamentation was at its peak in the 1960s. During that time, his wall plates were filled with fruits, plants, and pearls. The lush Paratiisi ('Paradise’) from 1969 has proven to be a timeless favorite. Kaipiainen designed both the shape and the decorative motif of the tableware. The set was also available in black and white from 1969 to 1974 and again since 2000. Today, there is also a lilac version.

Kaipiainen’s works were influenced by Early Renaissance, Byzantine ornamentation, and Orthodox art. He was an eccentric in his time, as post-war Finnish design valued practicality and simple forms.

Plants, flowers, and fruits were central to the artist’s imagery in the 1960s and 70s. Kolme päärynää (‘Three Pears’) art plate.

A wall plate from the 1980s belongs to businessman Kyösti Kakkonen’s collection.

Kaipiainen began to rise as an art celebrity when he worked for Rörstrand in Sweden from 1954 to 1958 and gained international attention. One milestone was his ceramic bead birds exhibited at the Milan Triennial in 1960, which earned him a Grand Prix.

Kaipiainen’s family continues his legacy. The Kuovi online store sells his patterns on products ranging from napkins to bedspreads.

Today, Kaipiainen’s decorative bowls and wall plates are sought after in antique shops.

Source: Antti Järvi’s article “Paratiisin lapsi” in Avotakka magazine 8/2013