Eero Aarnio is known as an innovative artist, thinking outside the box. In fact he has thought so much outside the box that he removed the corners and made it into a ball. With each line from the sketches to the real deals, no corners can be found from the Aarnio collections. His works are curved, full of surprises and have a sense of movement. And often it is the movement factor that makes them quite playful.
Over the decades we have been introduced to playful characters by the artist such as Pony, Puppy, Ghost or Kisu as the newest member. Eero has said that when he doesn't have any design ideas he likes to just sketch something and often those sketches have become one of his playful characters. But don’t be fooled. He has created plenty of serious designs, many of which have movement in them one way or another. Movement is present even in his static designs such as the wavy Copacabanana side table or the Parabel table which can be interpreted as born from movement. When looking at Parabel you can almost see the lines on the original sketch.
The artist can design something very neutral but then add a surprise factor to it such as creating rocking chair legs like he did with the Keinu chair or take something completely else and make it multifunctional like the Pony. The playful Pastil chair has completely changed our perception of what a rocking chair can look like. With lively shapes and by breaking the mould Aarnio has managed to reshape our understanding of comfort and style. And this is one of the reasons why Eero’s designs have become such beloved classics that are still as relevant as ever. They have brought joy and style to homes for decades and his designs last from parents to children.
His works encapsulates his desire to always create something bold and startling, functional yet playful. Playfulness is a big part of Aarnio’s artistic identity, engraved in his legacy for the design world. That is a trait that has driven him forward throughout his career and that is how we recognise the authentic Eero Aarnio touch.
