Eero Aarnio, a Finnish interior and industrial designer, was born in 1932.
Education
He went to Taideteollinen oppilaitos in Helsinki to study.
Biography
He began working as an industrial and interior designer in Kiittykumpu, Tontunmaki, in 1962, specialising in furniture design in synthetic materials; he is best known outside Finland for his chair designs; in 1960, he began designing in plastics, executing two of the decade’s most well-known designs: the womb-like 1963 Ball (or Globe) fibreglass chair (produced from 1965) with its built-in telephone (Finland). The Mustang chair, designed for contract interiors in the 1970s, was renamed Pony by Stendig in the United States. Later, he returned to more conventional materials, such as his 1982 Polardesign Viking dining table and chairs.
Eero Aarnio on 1stDibs
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Recognition
- Pastille chair received the 1968 AID award.
- Work included in many exhibitions, including 1966 (I) Genoa’ Eurodomus’;
- 1968 (II) Turin’ Eurodomus”;
- 1959 Cantu International Furniture Fair;
- 1963 ‘Export Furniture Competition,’ Helsinki;
- 1964 ‘Scandinavian Park Furniture Competition’ (first prize);
- 1965 Cantu ‘Furniture Competition’ (first prize);
- 1967 Helsinki ‘Steel Furniture Competition’;
- One-person exhibit at 1968 Helsinki and Stockholm’ Fiberglass Furniture Exhibition.’
- Pastille chair was first shown at 1968 Cologne Furniture Fair; included in 1968 ‘Les Assises du siége contemporain’, Paris Musée des Arts Décoratifs;
- 1970 ‘Modern Chairs, 1918-1970,’ Whitechapel Gallery, London;
- 1983 ‘Scandinavian Modern Design: 1880-1980’, Cooper-Hewitt Museum, New York;
- 1983—84 ‘Design Since 1945’, Philadelphia Museum of Art;
- He received the 1969 USA Interior Design International Award.
Sources
Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.