This is a lovely bronze candlestick designed by Pentti Sarpaneva (1925-1978) for Finnish Jeweler Turun Hopea Oy. Sarpaneva studied in Helsinki at the school of Fine art and the School of Industrial Art. He specialized in designing jewelry and metalworks, primarily in the more affordable bronze although works in silver and gold are also known by him. This candlestick is an excellent example of his work. Probably designed in 1970 it features his so-called Pitsi, or ‘Lace’ design, a feature that is present in a lot of his works. The rough-and-ready and experimental design of the lace motif make it undoubtedly brutalist, but it is the kind of brutalism with a small ‘b’. The overall look of the work after all is a lot more toned-down and palatable to a more mainstream audience. This kind of brutalism became very popular during the 1970s and all kinds of household items received a design makeover.
What I like particularly about this object is the subtleness of the design. At first sight it looks like a traditional candlestick, perhaps in the Arts and Crafts style, but at closer examination the unusual design reveals it is a lot more modern. The comparison with the Arts and Crafts movement is an interesting one. For both movements the choice of materials was important. Rather than covering the objects with decorations, it was important to let the materials shine and artists were typically unapologetic about choosing relatively cheap, but honest materials. For the Arts and Crafts movement, the aesthetics were achieved mainly through very good, thoughtful design, rather than ornamentation. For the brutalist movement however, it often looks as if aesthetics was not even a consideration for many artists. The playful experimentation with the materials took centre stage and it is therefore no surprise that cheap, adaptable materials like concrete, glass and steel were the materials of choice.
Apart from metal Sarpaneva also designed glass and was especially interested in combining glass and metal. Unfortunately he died quite young. He was the older brother of Timo Sarpaneva, a celebrated Finnish Glass designer.
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