MUG

This mug was created by Kyllikki Salmenhaara while teaching at the Helsinki University of Art and Design, as part of her experiments and research.
"KS" and "K30" are embossed on the side.
*The broken handle has been repaired with platinum joinery.

KYLLIKKI SALMENHAARA｜Kyllikki Salmenhaara｜1915–1981｜FINLAND

Kyllikki Salmenhaara is one of the most outstanding ceramists representing 20th-century Finnish ceramics, who elevated exceptional pottery wheel techniques to an art form. Throughout her life, she dedicated herself to ceramic research and education.

From 1938, she majored in ceramics under Elsa Elenius at the Central School of Arts and Crafts. She showed her talent early on, winning top prizes in school competitions while still a student.

After graduation, she worked as a glass designer at Kauklahti Glassworks for three years, and in 1946, she studied glaze research at Saxbo in Denmark, under the guidance of Nathalie Krebs, known as a glaze chemist. The experience in glaze research cultivated here became the foundation for the unique glaze expressions seen in her later works.

She later passed through Sakari Vapaavuori's studio and joined Arabia in 1947. Initially, she worked as an assistant to Olga Osol, who was the head of the applied arts department, but in 1950, she moved to the art department, where she remained until 1961. While advancing research into clay and glaze composition, firing, etc., she created works characterized by glaze expressions that utilized the texture of materials and powerful forms created on the potter's wheel.

In 1956, she stayed in the United States and was exposed to the trends of studio ceramics, which were developing at the time, which is said to have led to her subsequent free and powerful sculptural expressions.

Her works were highly acclaimed internationally, and she won a silver medal at the Milan Triennale in 1951, an honorary award in 1954, a Grand Prix in 1957, and a gold medal in 1960, winning awards in all the exhibitions she participated in.

She left Arabia after an accident where she injured her finger with a blade mixed in the clay during production, and from 1961, she became involved in ceramic education at a university in Taiwan. From 1963 until her death in 1981, she worked as an educator and researcher at the School of Art and Design and the Helsinki University of Art and Design.

In 1974, she published her book "Keramiikka," which summarized her years of research and experience. This book, which systematically compiled ceramic materials, pottery wheel techniques, clay and glaze formulations, and firing, had a significant impact on ceramic education and research in Finland.

Through her works, research, and educational activities, Salmenhaara left a significant mark on 20th-century Finnish ceramics.