Henning Koppel’s pioneering, organic designs in silver for Georg Jensen are in timeless demand with their bold, magnificently executed plastic forms. His creations for Georg Jensen and Bing & Grøndahl are classics of Scandinavian Modern design.
Koppel originally studied sculpture under professor Einar Utzon-Frank at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts’ School of Sculpture in 1936–37, followed by studies at Académie Ranson in Paris from 1938 to 1939. He lived in Sweden during the Second World War, like many other Danes with Jewish roots, and took up jewelry making during that period. Following his return to Denmark in 1945, he was tied to Georg Jensen. Henning Koppel’s unique artistic expression fused with the traditional craftsmanship methods mastered at Georg Jensen, and he emerged as an accomplished silver artist, creating jewelry, hollowware and cutlery.
From 1961 until his death in 1981, Henning Koppel was also tied to Bing & Grøndahl Porcelænsfabrik, where he created tableware.
Among Koppel’s awards are the Lunning Prize in 1953, Gold Medals at the Milan Triennale in 1951, 1954 and 1957 and the International Design Award of the American Institute of Interior Designers in 1963.
Literature: The Lunning Prize, Nationalmusei utställningskatalog nr 489, 1986
The “Amoeba” bracelet was designed in 1947. Shop on nordlingsjewelry.com
Birger Kaipiainen was Finland’s foremost ceramic artist of the midcentury period, whose unique style gave him world renown. His unique works are acclaimed collector’s pieces and his tableware designs from the 1960s are still in production.
Kaipiainen showed exceptional talent already as a student at the University of Art and Design in Helsinki. Following his studies, he joined Arabia’s art department at twenty-two, and was given complete freedom to develop his artistry. He has been described as “quiet and dreaming”, and his personality is certainly expressed in his imaginative, etheral creations. He had suffered from polio at a young age, and its effects prevented him from making thrown work. This was something that likely led him find his own expression, which stands in contrast to the often stark creations of his contemporaries like Toini Muona and Rut Bryk. During the 1940s he worked with large plaques with flowing edges and romantic themes inspired by the medieval, Rococo and Renaissance periods. In the 1950s he created stylized birds and human figures, while later in the 1960s developing large series of unique plates with striking ornaments in a lush Baroque style. He had a profound knowledge of ceramic techniques as well as of glazes and used careful techniques to maintain the innate glow of pigments as they made their way through the kiln.
Birger Kaipianen worked at Arabia during his entire career, from 1937 to 1988, with a four year stint at Rörstrand between 1954 and 1958. Among his numerous awards are Dimplôme d’Honneur in Milan in 1951, Grand Prix in Milan in 1960, the Pro Finlandia award in 1963 and Prins Eugen medal in 1982.
Litterature: ”Ceramic Art in Finland, A Contemporary Tradition”, Edited by Åsa Hellman, Otava Publishing Company Ltd, Finland, 2004
John Kandell is perhaps best known for his long and fruitful collaboration with the furniture manufacturer Källemo, resulting in iconic designs such as the “Pilaster” shelf. However, Kandell began his career in the 1940s working as a drawer for the architect Carl-Axel Acking. In 1947 he graduated from Konstfack University of Arts, crafts and design and went straight on to further studies in sculpture at the same school. For many years he also worked as a teacher at Konstfack. Kandell was often hired by other architects to carry out interior designs and can account for many prestigious projects such as the interior architecture of Svea hovrätt, Göta hovrätt, Tannefors Church and several banks and other churches.
