Gunnel Nyman

Chief Executive Officer Lars Lindblom, Finland-Sydamerika Linjen.

A similar sofa suite was exposed at exhibition at Turku Art Museum in September 1938 arranged Oy Boman Ab. The exhibition also featured works by Gunnel Nyman, Carl-Johan Boman, Lisa Johansson-Pape and Dora Jung, light fittings by Taito Oy, and inlaid works made for a new ship of the Finland South America Line.

Gunnel Gustafsson-Nyman (1909–1948) was a Finnish glass artist and designer who became a significant pioneer in early modern Finnish glass design. Her work included both functional objects and art glass, and her pieces are represented in international museum collections.
She studied furniture design at the School of Industrial Arts from 1928 to 1932 under the guidance of Arttu Brummer. At the beginning of her career, she worked in a functionalist style, designing furniture for the Stockmann and Boman factories as well as lighting fixtures for Idman’s lighting factory.
Although Nyman was not formally trained as a glass artist, she began designing glass during the 1930s and 1940s and collaborated with several leading Finnish glassworks, including Riihimäki, Karhula, Iittala, and, during the final years of her career, Nuutajärvi.
Nyman received significant international recognition, including a gold medal at the 1937 Paris World Exhibition and medals at the Milan Triennials. Her works are held in the collections of several prestigious museums, including the British Museum and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Although Nyman passed away at a young age, her influence on glass art extends far into postwar Finnish design.