Anu Pentik | |
---|---|
![]() Pentik in 1987 | |
Born | Eeva Anneli Pasi 3 August 1942 |
Known for | Ceramic design |
Eeva Anneli ("Anu") Pentikäinen ( née Pasi; born 3 August 1942), [1] better known professionally as Anu Pentik, is a Finnish designer and ceramicist.
Pentik's mother died when she was only six, after which she had to assume responsibility for running the household. [2]
She trained as a home economist ( Finnish: kotitalousteknikko), and later as arts & crafts instructor. [3]
Pentik is largely self-taught; pottery-making and leather craft started as her hobbies, before she decided to try her hand at them professionally. [4]
Pentik set up her eponymous ceramics and interior design business Pentik in Posio, Lapland, in 1971, together with her husband Topi Pentikäinen. [1] [5] The first products were sold at the village petrol station. [2]
The first retail store in Helsinki opened five years later, [5] and over the next forty years the business grew to comprise 80 stores in Finland and other Nordic countries, [1] making it one of Finland's leading design businesses. [4] The company is known for its focus on employee well-being, work-life-balance, and flexible work time arrangements. [4] It employs over 300 staff, [1] of whom c. 80% are women. [4]
Pentik has remained throughout the artistic director of the family business, working full time into her late 70s. [2]
Pentik's designs are characterised by warm colours and organic shapes, and have been described as atmospheric. [6]
Her products are designed to be sustainable, safe and long-lasting. [7]
In 1993, Pentik co-exhibited alongside her fellow industrial designers Kaija Aarikka and Vuokko Nurmesniemi, in an exhibition titled "Kolme naista, kolme elämäntyötä" ( lit. "Three women, three lifeworks") in Ikaalinen. [8]
In 2006, she held her 35-year-retrospective exhibition "Intohimona keramiikka" ( lit. "Ceramics as passion") at the Retretti art museum in Punkaharju. [9]
In 2017, Pentik's two-month solo exhibition "Three Rooms" in Kunsthalle Helsinki formed part of the 100th anniversary celebrations of Finland's independence. [6] [2]
In 2020, she held a 50-year-retrospective solo exhibition at the Wäinö Aaltonen Museum of Art in Turku. [2]
In 2012, Anu Pentik was conferred an honorary doctorate by the University of Lapland's Faculty of Art and Design. [10] [1]
In 2014, she was awarded the Pro Finlandia medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland. [11]
In 2021, Pentik received the Finnish State Prize for Design in recognition of her 50-year-career. [3]
Anu Pentik | |
---|---|
![]() Pentik in 1987 | |
Born | Eeva Anneli Pasi 3 August 1942 |
Known for | Ceramic design |
Eeva Anneli ("Anu") Pentikäinen ( née Pasi; born 3 August 1942), [1] better known professionally as Anu Pentik, is a Finnish designer and ceramicist.
Pentik's mother died when she was only six, after which she had to assume responsibility for running the household. [2]
She trained as a home economist ( Finnish: kotitalousteknikko), and later as arts & crafts instructor. [3]
Pentik is largely self-taught; pottery-making and leather craft started as her hobbies, before she decided to try her hand at them professionally. [4]
Pentik set up her eponymous ceramics and interior design business Pentik in Posio, Lapland, in 1971, together with her husband Topi Pentikäinen. [1] [5] The first products were sold at the village petrol station. [2]
The first retail store in Helsinki opened five years later, [5] and over the next forty years the business grew to comprise 80 stores in Finland and other Nordic countries, [1] making it one of Finland's leading design businesses. [4] The company is known for its focus on employee well-being, work-life-balance, and flexible work time arrangements. [4] It employs over 300 staff, [1] of whom c. 80% are women. [4]
Pentik has remained throughout the artistic director of the family business, working full time into her late 70s. [2]
Pentik's designs are characterised by warm colours and organic shapes, and have been described as atmospheric. [6]
Her products are designed to be sustainable, safe and long-lasting. [7]
In 1993, Pentik co-exhibited alongside her fellow industrial designers Kaija Aarikka and Vuokko Nurmesniemi, in an exhibition titled "Kolme naista, kolme elämäntyötä" ( lit. "Three women, three lifeworks") in Ikaalinen. [8]
In 2006, she held her 35-year-retrospective exhibition "Intohimona keramiikka" ( lit. "Ceramics as passion") at the Retretti art museum in Punkaharju. [9]
In 2017, Pentik's two-month solo exhibition "Three Rooms" in Kunsthalle Helsinki formed part of the 100th anniversary celebrations of Finland's independence. [6] [2]
In 2020, she held a 50-year-retrospective solo exhibition at the Wäinö Aaltonen Museum of Art in Turku. [2]
In 2012, Anu Pentik was conferred an honorary doctorate by the University of Lapland's Faculty of Art and Design. [10] [1]
In 2014, she was awarded the Pro Finlandia medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland. [11]
In 2021, Pentik received the Finnish State Prize for Design in recognition of her 50-year-career. [3]