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DESIGNER OF THE MONTH
January 2008: Arthur Percy (1886-1976)
Arthus Percy was born on the Island of Öland and was to live most of his life there. When he was seventeen years old he was accepted as a student at the Konstnärsförbundet School in Stockholm where Eugene Jansson became his teacher. Together with fellow student Isaac Grünewald he was part of an artist group called “De Unga” (The young ones), also called “1909 års män” (the men of 1909) as their first exhibition, held in 1909, marked an important step towards Swedish modernism.
It was as designer for glass and porcelain Arthur Percy became one of the most influential designers in Sweden as well as abroad. |
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Arthur Percy in his garden
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He was one of the first artists to be employed as a designer in the Swedish manufacturing industry; in 1923 he was employed by Gefle Porslinsfabrik to create new and more beautiful objects for everyday life. Using the flora of the island Öland as his inspiration he created designs in Rococo and Art Deco styles. One of the most successful designs was the VINRANKA series, created for the Gefle Porcelain factory and his black glaze which was introduced in 1927.
Between 1942 and 1951 he was also designing for Karskrona Porslinsfabrik and for this factory he created a series of vases called MINARET. From 1951 until 1965 he designed glass for Gullaskrufs Glasbruk where he among other popular designs created the glass series REFFLA. In the 1930`s Percy was also working with textiles. He was then working for Elsa Gullberg and designed textiles such as SPALJÉ and PERCY BLAD.
Despite a large output in the field of design Percy was first and foremost a painter. He was working with design for three months every year and for the rest of the time he painted. The last ten years was spent painting .
Design for a tray,
Gefle Porslinsfabrik AB,
1920´s |
Design For cups,
Gefle Porslinsfabrik AB,
1950`s |
Vase designs,
Gullaskrufs Glasbruk |
Design for plate decor,
Gullaskrufs Glasbruk,
1950´s |
Design for Exotica dinner
service, Gefle Porslins-
fabrik AB 1930 – 1943 |
Design for Vinranka,
Gefle Porslinsfabrik AB,
1941-1968 |
Design for drinks dispenser,
Gefle Porslinsfabrik AB,
1926 |
Design for glass series,
Gullaskrufs Glasbruk |
Skiss Diana, Gefle
Porslinsfabrik AB,
1920-talet |
Design for Reffla glasseries,
Gullaskrufs Glasbruk,
1955 |
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Education
1905 Konstnärsförbundets school, Stockholm
1908 Studied for Matisse in Paris
Grants and Awards
1925 Diplome d´Honneur at the Paris Exhibition
1927 The Carl Larsson Grant
1957 The Prince Eugene Medal
Artistic Production
1923-1960 Employed at Gefle Porslinsfabrik
1929 Represented at the Barcelona World Exhibition
1930 Represented at the Stockholm exhibition
1936 Textile designs for Elsa Gullberg Textiles and Interiors
1936 Represented at the New York World Exhibition
1943-1951 Designed porcelain for Karlskrona Porslinsfabrik
1952-1965 Designed Porcelain for Gullaskrufs Glasbruk
1955 Represented at the exhibition H55 in Helsingborg
Bibliography
Ericsson, Anne-Marie, Arthur Percy – konstnär och formgivare
Gyllenhammar, Tord, Arthur Percy, Keramisk nyskapare som älskade naturen | |
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