27/02/2023
ANTTI+VUOKKO NURMESNIEMI
28.10.2022-09.04.2023
Design Museum, Helsinki, Finland
Interior architect Antti Nurmesniemi and textile artist Vuokko Nurmesniemi (née Eskolin) have both had remarkable careers in their respective fields. Antti Nurmesniemi was a prominent designer who was also influential behind the scenes. Vuokko Nurmesniemi, on the other hand, is a reformer of the Finnish textile and clothing industry. The exhibition at Design Museum marks the first time that the designer couple’s works all the way from the 1950s have been showcased together on a large scale. In addition, the exhibition sheds light on the uncompromising and holistic way of life that was the foundation for the couple’s creativity, and on the significance of continuous dialogue, both on and off the job.
The results of Antti (1927-2003) and Vuokko (b. 1930) Nurmesniemi’s work that began during the post-war reconstruction, as well as the couple’s life together, have become a significant part of Finnish design history. The designer couple’s internationally recognized and long life’s work and activity offer us a rare glimpse of different periods of societal upheaval and development, seen through the eyes of a designer. The exhibition illustrates what it’s like being a designer and how the profession has changed. The Nurmesniemis have had the privilege of working as part of an extensive field.
Even though the couple’s working methods and materials were different, the end result was design products that complement each other and share the same aesthetic. The Nurmesniemis’ common education, shared projects, mutual support and dialogic manner fed the creative vigor of both artists and urged them on to even grander accomplishments. The Nurmesniemis became a public entity: they appeared both separately and together, advocating good and sustainable design.
(Texts from the Design Museum, Helsinki, Finland; image: HSLee-N)
