OIVA TOIKKA – the playful master of glass mass

If you have ever considered acquiring a glass artwork by Oiva Toikka, now is an excellent opportunity. Our Modern auction features a comprehensive selection of Oiva Toikka’s glass art – as many as 124 lots.

When thinking of Toikka’s production, his glass birds or inherited tableware pieces may be the first to come to mind. Tableware series created from the mid-1960s onwards, such as Kastehelmi, decorated with glass droplets resembling dewdrops, and the plant-inspired Flora series, remain popular today.

As an artist, however, Toikka was highly versatile and explored different techniques with an open, experimental approach. His glass design was driven by curiosity and a desire to experiment, and his work has been described as vibrant and playful, with imagination as its only apparent limit. His production ranges from industrial serial design to unique art pieces, and he also worked in set design for theatre and opera. The visual language of stage and scenography undoubtedly served as an additional source of inspiration for the aesthetics of his glass art.

Toikka followed his time and drew inspiration from the colourful and decorative Pop Art movement of the 1960s. His joyful use of colour in glass mass can be seen in the Lollipop glass sculptures. The idea originated from the “sweet” colours available at Nuutajärvi glass factory. In our auction, these glass lollipops are now available in all the colours of the rainbow. Striking unique works are also represented by the later column-like Latina glass sculptures, whose rich and highly detailed ornamentation captivates the viewer.

Among the unique artworks are also the Pinja glass sculptures, for which Toikka developed a special technique in which the organic, leafy form was created by pouring molten glass onto a concrete floor and then gathering it onto a blowpipe. The encounter between hot glass and the floor resulted in freely flowing forms.

1055. OIVA TOIKKA(1931-2019),Pinja, lähtöhinta 800 €

Text: Annika Adlercreutz
 
Litterature:
Oiva Toikka - 50 vuotta oivalluksia, Designmuseo, 2010.
Jack Dawson, Oiva Toikka. Lasi ja design, WSOY, 2007.