Maija Isola
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Maija Isola (1927-2001) was a leading Finnish designer of printed textiles. She also had a career as a visual artist.[1]
Life and career
After studying painting at the Helsinki Central School of Industrial Arts, Isola became principal textile designer for Marimekko.[2]
According to FinnStyle, she was "undisputedly the most famous textile designer to have existed at Marimekko"[3], and she "created over 500 prints during her long and colorful employment."[3]
Ivar Ekman, writing in the New York Times, quotes Marianne Aav, director of the Helsinki Design Museum: "What we understand as the Marimekko style is very much based on what Maija Isola was doing".[4] Ekman comments "The range of prints that Isola produced for Marimekko is astounding", as the patterns span "minimalistic geometric", "toned-down naturalistic" and "explosion of colors".[4]
According to Tamsin Blanchard, writing in The Observer, "The designs of Maija Isola - one of the company's original and longest-standing designers - have stood the test of time."[5] Blanchard describes as "timeless" Isola's 1972 Wind design "with its feathery organic tree skeletons in silhouette", her 1957 Putinotko "spiky black-and-white print", her 1963 Melon and her 1956 Stones.[5]
Hannah Booth, writing in The Guardian, explains that Marimekko's founder, Armi Ratia, "recruited Maija Isola, the first and most important of many young female designers, to create original prints".[6] She describes Isola as "unconventional", leaving her daughter Kristina "to grow up with her grandmother so she could travel the world to find inspiration for her textiles".[6] Booth quotes Finnish novelist Kaari Utrio as saying Isola was "a dangerously original character"; she "belonged to a trailblazing generation" enabling young women to move freely into the arts.[6]
Painting
Isola left Marimekko in 1987.[4] She worked on painting, not textiles, until her death in 2001.[4]
Bibliography
- Fiell, Charlotte and Peter, Design of the 20th Century (Taschen: 2001) ISBN 3-8228-5542-1
- Observer article The Observer, "Marimekko", Interiors, Tamsin Blanchard 20 May 2001
- Guardian article "Flower Power", The Guardian, Life & Style, Hannah Booth
References
- ^ "Maija Isola". Merimekko. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
- ^ "Maija Isola patterns for Marimekko". Design Finland. 31 August 2006. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
- ^ a b "FinnStyle:Maija Isola". Finnish Designers: Maija Isola. FinnStyle. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ^ a b c d Ekman, Ivar (August 23, 2005). "New York Times". Nostalgia for a modern Finnish designer. New York Times. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ^ a b Blanchard, Tamsin (20 May 2001). "The Observer". Interiors:Marimekko:The Finnish Line. The Guardian. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ^ a b c Booth, Hannah (5 September 2005). "The Guardian: Life & Style: Women". Flower power. The Guardian. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
External links
- Maija Isola Profile on Marimekko.com
- Maija Isola Profile and images on FinnishDesign.com
- Maija Isola Profile at Scandinavian Design Center
- Maija Isola - profile on BelovedLinens.net
- DesignMuseet - exhibition at Scandinavian Design Museum
- Finn Style - profile on FinnStyle.com
- Maija Isola - The Art Institute of Chicago]