Linnea Rut Bryk (October 18, 1916, in Stockholm – November 14, 1999, in Helsinki) was a Finnish

ceramist Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take forms including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is one of the visual arts. Whil ...

. She is considered a key reformer of modern Finnish ceramic art.

Education and early career

Bryk's parents were

Felix Bryk Felix Bryk (21 January 1882, in Vienna – 13 January 1957, in Stockholm) was a Swedish anthropologist, entomologist and writer. In entomological circles, Bryk is best known as a lepidopterist; in anthropological history, for his studies in East A ...

, an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

entomologist, and Aino Mäkinen. Bryk studied graphic art at the Art and the Central School of Helsinki in 1936–1939 and started working in 1942 in the Arabia Factory in Helsinki working with Birger Kaipiainen. Bryk's early works include graphical designs for greeting cards and book covers, as well as ceramic objects, such as colorful containers, trays and jewelry. In the mid-1940s she made

faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an oxide of tin to the slip of a lead glaze, was a major ad ...

plates characterized by pastel colors, and scenes of women in fancy hats, strolls in the park, and young courting. This turn to the idyllic has been interpreted as a response to the horrors of

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

The subjects were figurative, often naive, poetic and glowing in color.

Late 1940s - 1950s

Her work from the late 1940s and 1950s leaves the earlier naivety behind for more complex and expressionistic work. Figures start to be constructed from color fields and raised relief: this way of working created a strong sense of contrast between glazed and unglazed sections. The subject matter also changes, and includes biblical motifs, Gothic and Renaissance architecture.

1960s onward

In the 1960s Bryk's work changes again, as she built large-scale ceramic mosaics meant for public spaces made on individual small tiles. Her previously narrative and figurative subject matter was replaced by geometrical abstraction. She made especially complex compositions, that make use of the three-dimensional nature of tiles and changes in glaze to create patterns with shadow, light and reflection. Bryk's most famous pieces are the "City in the Sun" (1975), Helsinki City Hall's lobby staircase as well as the seven-paneled wall relief "Ice Flow" (1987–91), displayed in

Mäntyniemi Mäntyniemi (; ) is one of the three official residences of the President of Finland, besides the Presidential Palace and the summer residence Kultaranta. Mäntyniemi was finished in 1993. Four Finnish presidents have lived there: Mauno Koivist ...

, the President of the Republic's official residence.

Awards

Bryk was awarded the

Pro Finlandia The Order of the Lion of Finland ( fi, Suomen Leijonan ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Lejons orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty and the Order of the White Rose of Finland. The President o ...

medal in 1962 and the Finnish State Design Prize in 1974. She was awarded the Finnish White Rose Knight First Class in 1982 and received a Doctor of Philosophy ''honoris causa'' from the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

in 1994.

Personal life

Bryk married

Tapio Wirkkala Tapio Veli Ilmari Wirkkala (2 June 1915 – 19 May 1985) was a Finnish designer and sculptor, a major figure of post-war design. Life and work Wirkkala was born in Hanko in 1915. He attended the Töölö co-educational school in Helsinki. His fat ...

and together had two children: Sami Wirkkala (born 1948) and Maaria Wirkkala (born 1954). Sami is an interior designer and Maaria is a contemporary artist. Bryk died in Helsinki in 1999 and is buried in Helsinki's

Hietaniemi Cemetery The Hietaniemi cemetery ( fi, Hietaniemen hautausmaa, sv, Sandudds begravningsplats) is located mainly in the Lapinlahti quarter and partly in the Etu-Töölö district of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. It is the location for Finnish state ...

in the same grave with her husband.

References

External links

Rut Byrk at Wirkkala Bryk Foundation.

Rut Bryk’s obituary in ''Helsingin Sanomat''.

Aarteenetsintä: Winterreise.

Rut Byrk at the National Museum of Women in the Arts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryk, Rut 1916 births 1999 deaths 20th-century Finnish women artists Finnish women ceramists Finnish people of Austrian descent Pro Finlandia Medals of the Order of the Lion of Finland 20th-century ceramists Swedish emigrants to Finland