Göran Hongell (1902-1973)
designer and glass artist
Göran Hongell was one of Finland's leading glass designers of the 1930s and 1940s. He originally studied at the department of ornamental painting of the Central School of Arts and Crafts in Helsinki in 1919–1922 and worked as an ornamental painter from 1923 until 1927. Hongell founded a company together with Gunnar Forsström in 1928. Their joint works included ornamental paintings for Noormarkku Church (1931–1933). Gunnar Forsström made the stained glass paintings of the church while Hongell prepared the wall paintings. Göran Hongell also designed posters, for the Finnish Fair Corporation among other clients, and was involved in the interior decoration of the new Capitol cinema in Helsinki. His poster designs include an elegant poster for the 1928 Finnish exhibition of applied art, which he drew together with Gunnar Forsström.
Hongell was hired as a designer by the Karhula glassworks in 1933. At the time, the glassworks, like the whole country, was still in the midst of a deep depression, but economic recovery gradually began. Hans Ahlström became the director of the Karhula glassworks, where new machinery was acquired in 1936. The glassworks consistently aimed at large-scale manufacturing, and by the outbreak of the Finnish-Soviet Winter War of 1939–1940 output had grown significantly and the quality of products had clearly improved. Demand began to increase in export markets and in the 1930s and 1940s Karhula products were exported to the Nordic countries, England, the United States, Japan, Australia and South Africa.
During his first years at Karhula, Hongell designed household glassware and crystal. The decorated vases and bowls were often engraved according to the wishes of clients. In the late 1930s Hongell concentrated on pressed glass, the production of which had been transferred to Karhula according to a division of tasks agreed upon by glassworks in Finland. The pressed glass designed by Hongell represented modern new production, with the "Silko", "Maininki" and "Säde" collections as good examples. The Karhula glassworks had its own department, headed by Hongell, at the Paris World's Fair of 1937. Black blown glass by Hongell in an art deco spirit had been on show at the Milan Triennial of 1933 and art glass by him was also on display at the New York World's Fair in 1939.
During the Second World War the Karhula glassworks mainly produced bottles, medicinal and household glassware and window glass. Hongell also designed a large number of commemorative bowls and dishes related to the war effort. The most important exhibition of the war years was held in Stockholm in 1941, where almost all the glass objects from Karhula had been designed by Hongell. The exhibits included the Silk and Maininki collections, a crystal vase known as "Hongell's Hat" and other crystal bowls. Already at this stage critics noted the simplified modernist line of Finnish art glass.
Hongell's best-known work in glass design is most probably the Aarne collection, which began to be produced in 1949. It represented the new post-war line and corresponded to contemporary needs, being multi-functional, of uncluttered lines and economical to produce. Its simple elegance was equally suited to everyday use and special occasions alike. In 1951 Artek staged an exhibition of utility glassware, in which the Aarne collection was presented to the public. Aarne was awarded a gold model at the Milan Triennial of 1954. Its production was resumed in 1981 in honour of the centenary of the Iittala corporation.
Göran Hongell was also a faculty member of the Central School of Arts and Crafts, where he taught ornamental painting from 1927 until 1935. He joined the Ornamo association of designers in 1924 and was an active member until the late 1930s. Hongell was also a member of the board of Ornamo on several occasions.
It should be remembered that in the 1930s Göran Hongell was the only designer to be permanently employed by a Finnish factory, and in this respect he was trailblazer among Finnish designers. He retired in 1957 and died in Helsinki on the 27th of July 1973. The Iittala Glass Museum held a Göran Hongell memorial exhibition in 2002.
Auli Suortti-Vuorio
Bibliography:
Applied Art in Finland. Les arts appliqués en Finlande. Las artes utiles en Finlandia.Editors H. Röneholm, W. West, W. Wahlroos. Helsinki 1939.
Koivisto, Kaisa, Göran Hongell, the Finnish Glass Designer. Scandinavian Journal of Design History. Vol. 9/1999
Koivisto, Kaisa, Kolme tarinaa lasista. Suomalainen lasimuotoilu 1946-1957. Lasitutkimuksia – Glass Research XIII (2001). Suomen Lasimuseo. Vammala 2001
Ornamo 25 vuotta. Suomen Koristetaiteilijain Liitto Ornamon 8. vuosikirja 1936
Suomen Koristetaiteilijain Liitto Ornamon 9. vuosikirja 1937
Photos:
Poster
Glass bowls
Carafe
