Yrjö Kukkapuro
Yrjö Kukkapuro, A 1980s 'Four' chair for Avarte.
Frame of metal and veneer. Marked "Model 4 Nelonen, Chair for multipurpose use". Width 46 cm, seat height 45 cm, total height 75 cm.
Wear due to age and use.
Provenance
Isa Kukkapuro's collection.
More information
The name of the chair comes from a childhood memory from the Vuoksenniska elementary school in Imatra: When Yrjö occasionally received a failing grade on a test, he didn’t want to reveal it. So when a friend asked what grade he got, Yrjö would say, “I got a chair.” The number 4, in the typography of that time, looked like a chair.
The chair being auctioned is part of an edition of 8 pieces made for exhibition purposes.
Designer
Yrjö Kukkapuro is a Finnish interior architect and furniture designer with a prolific career spanning over 65 years. He gained fame primarily through his experimental design and ergonomic philosophy, focusing on ecological values and the inherent qualities of materials. Born in 1933 in Vyborg, Kukkapuro studied at the University of Art and Design Helsinki, later becoming a teacher there. Eventually, he served as the rector from 1978 to 1980.
Kukkapuro is perhaps best known for his chairs, with one of the most famous being the "Karuselli" from 1964. The chair was dubbed the "Most Comfortable Chair in the World" by The New York Times in 1974 and is part of the permanent collections at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.