Timo Sarpaneva, a glass sculpture 'Orkidea Adriatico' signed Timo Sarpaneva Studio Pino Signoretto - Murano 1999.
Adriatic blue. Chair work, stick-blown, faceted and polished. Total height 68.5 cm. Central part diameter c. 17 cm.
The general impression is good.
Timo Sarpaneva's collection.
Timo Sarpaneva designed the Orkidea glass sculpture in 1954. The same year, the work won the Grand Prix at the Milan Triennale and was chosen as "The Most Beautiful Object in the World" by the American magazine House Beautiful. These events had a lasting impact on the young artist. The technique used to create the orchid, which shapes the inner space of the glass, remained with Sarpaneva throughout his glassmaking career. When he started working with the legendary maestro Pino Signoretto in Murano in 1997, Sarpaneva aimed to create larger versions of some of his life's landmark works, "about a meter high," as Timo described. Pino and his workshop accepted the challenge. They did not have access to the half-mould used in Iittala, so the giant-sized Orchid was made "freehand." The result was breathtaking! The Adriatico Orchid was faceted using the same technique that was used in the earliest Orkidea sculptures.
Marjatta Sarpaneva
Two documentaries 'Sarpaneva ja muodon taju' and 'Sarpaneva Sarpanevasta' are available on YLE Arena.