CUP with HANDLE

MARITA LYBECK｜マリタ・リューベック｜1906–1990｜FINLAND

Marita Lybeck (1906–1990) was a Finnish designer and ceramist.
Her brother was Nils-Gustav Hahl, a art historian and critic known as one of the founding members of ARTEK.
Through her brother, she interacted with key figures of the modernism movement of the time, and at the request of Aino Aalto, she designed ceramics and textiles for ARTEK.
She created fabrics for Alvar Aalto's furniture exhibited at the 1937 Paris World's Fair and some of the tableware for the SAVOY restaurant.

In 1947, she established her own studio, EMMEL. Using local red clay, she presented handmade tableware that featured simple forms with minimal decoration, and allowed for free combinations and stacking, based on modern and innovative design principles, while retaining the marks of the artisan's hand.
In 1951, she held a successful solo exhibition at ARTEK titled "Form och funktion i rödlera (Form and Function in Red Clay)," but thereafter, faced intense price competition from mass-produced industrial tableware with similar design philosophies, exemplified by Kaj Franck's KILTA series, and closed her studio in 1957.

From 1957, she became the art director of KERA, a local pottery manufacturer that had produced ARTEK ceramics before EMMEL was established, and remained there until 1958.
Afterward, she worked as a manager in the art and design department at the Stockmann department store in Helsinki.
She received a silver medal at the 1954 Milan Triennale.