Incollect Magazine - Issue 2

Incollect Magazine 77 2022 W e all recognize artwork by Andy Warhol, a table by George Nakashima, a chair by Hans Wegner, or a table or sofa by Charles and Ray Eames. Brand awareness is everything these days, as much as for art and design as it is for cars and cereal. The more easily identifiable an object or image, the more a brand is known and trusted and in turn, the more popular it tends to be. This is certainly the case for the Finnish designer Paavo Tynell (1890–1973), whose lighting designs have won him a place in the lexicon of classic 20th-century design. Tynell designed a great many varied lighting fixtures throughout his career and yet today, the body of work remains remarkable in its distinctiveness. Simplicity is a hallmark of his style, along with the originality of his light fixtures — elegant, delicate, unadorned, and at the same time functional, and always with a high quality of execution. “You can’t mistake his designs with someone else’s,” states Val Nikitin from VN Vintage & Modern who has over 20 available Tynell models on display in his New York gallery. He recently sold an important pair of chandeliers A pair of Model “9029/6” mid-20th-century six-light chandeliers. Image courtesy of VN Vintage & Modern. Ceiling light by Paavo Tynell for Taito Oy, Finland, ca. 1950. Image courtesy of VN Vintage & Modern.