Liisi Beckmann for Gabbianelli.

LIISI BECKMANN (Finland, 1924–2004) for Gabbianelli.
Teapot, Italy, 1967.
Yellow-glazed ceramic.
Includes a lid, a side dish, and a warmer.
In very good overall condition with slight wear consistent with its age and use.
Measurements: 22 x 25 x 16 cm.
Teapot with lid, side cup, and warmer made of bright yellow glazed ceramic. The set was conceived as a modular and stackable design, characteristic of Liisi Beckmann’s work for Gabbianelli, one of the icons of Italian design in the 1960s.
Liisi Beckmann was a Finnish designer and artist who worked primarily in Italy from the late 1950s through the late 1970s. Her work is held in the collections of the Moderna Museet in Stockholm and the Design Museum in Helsinki. Her work has also been exhibited at the Rome Quadrennial, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris, and the Design Museum of the Milan Triennale. Her most famous design was the Karelia chair, first produced by Zanotta in 1966. Beckmann moved to Milan in 1957, where she worked at the La Rinascente design studio. He went on to design objects and furniture for various Italian companies, including the furniture company Zanotta, the glass company Vetreria Vistosi, the ceramics company Gabbianelli, and the metalwork company Valenti. In the late 1960s, Beckmann settled in Cassano d’Adda, on the outskirts of Milan. In the mid-1970s, he gradually withdrew from design and devoted himself to painting and sculpture. During this period, he held a solo exhibition at the Galleria di Naviglio in Milan and exhibited his sculptures *Liszt* and *Marconi* at the Rome Quadriennale. Another sculpture from this period, *Homo Erectus*, is housed at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm. Beckmann spent the last years of his life in Finland and died in Orimattila at the age of 79. In 2015, a retrospective exhibition of his work was held at the Palazzo Berva in Cassano d’Adda.