Sitting Pretty Finnish Designer Aarnio Creates Chairs With Whimsy, Elegance, Sensuality by Michael Coleman The well-dressed woman approached the low-slung Tomato Chair at the Finnish Embassy with a glass of chardonnay in her hand and some trepidation on her mind. ìHow exactly does one sit in such a chair,î she seemed to wonder as she eyed the bulbous, cherry-red fiberglass design. Gingerly, she slid onto its surfaceófrom the wrong angleóand wound up nearly toppling herself and her drink. The woman burst into laughter as her amused friends looked on. Smiles and laughter came easy to those who gathered last month at the Finnish Embassy for the opening of its latest exhibit, ìPop Fantasies: Furniture Design by Eero Aarnio.î The Finnish designerís furniture, whether suspended from the ceiling or seeming to morph from the floor, often feels retro and contemporary, funky and elegant, playful and seductive all at the same time. The beautiful, airy expanse of the Finnish Embassyís reception area seemed transformed into a playground with the installation of Aarnioís designs. Two small children sat atop cloth and cushion that Aarnio had fashioned into eye-poppin g, green turtle chairs. ìTheyíre not going to let anyone else sit on them,î a young mother joked as she watched her two tots rocking back and forth on the chairs. A few feet away, an elderly man smiled at his wife as he swayed back and forth in one of Aarnioís bubble chairs, a clear, plastic shell suspended from the ceiling by a chain, with a shiny silver cushion inside. The bubble chairs, as well as many other Aarnio designs, have been featured in countless magazine pictorials, advertisements, films and commercials. It should come as no surprise that D.C.ís hippest new restaurantóthe gorgeous IndeBlue Indian-French fusion eatery in Penn Quarteróhas a couple of replicas of the bubble chairs hanging in its bar. Needless to say, these chairs donít seem to stay empty for long. Aarnio, who attended the opening at the embassy, seemed gratified to see so many people enjoying his work. He said aside from sound ergonomic design, he follows very few rules when creating his furniture. ìIt must be comfortable for sitting and after that everything is free,î Aarnio explained. ìAfter that, anything is possible.î Born in 1932, Aarnio is one of Finlandís most internationally acclaimed designers, with a career spanning almost 40 years. His Ball Chair (1963), W.S.O.P. (1966) and Pastil Chair (1968), are icons of the 1960s, an era of rapid change in the realm of furniture design. Aarnio started out working with plastics in the same way that earlier Finnish designers, such as Ilmari Tapiovaara, worked with wood. His use of organic forms calls to mind a Scandinavian approach to the use of synthetic materials. Aarnio has been quoted as saying he wanted his designs to be beautiful and extraordinarily durable, a philosophy that was somewhat antithetical to the prevailing, almost disposable pop aesthetic of the 1960s. One attendee at the opening asked Aarnio if his furniture had been used on the set of the ìAustin Powersî movies, those cheeky, retro spy comedies starring Mike Meyers. He laughed and said no, but pointed out that musician Robbie Williams and Kelly Osbourne, daughter of hard rock legend Ozzy Osbourne, are both clients and big fans. A reporter writing in Anna magazine in 1968 had this to say about Aarnioís famed Pastil Chairs: ìIn a red, yellow or white Pastil chair, it is difficult to remain formal, stiff, dignified and serious. When you sit in one and start rocking to and from, you immediately feel like using first names and talking only of easy pleasant things. And in a Ball Chair, you really have no choice but to drop all formalities.î Perhaps the main drawback to some of Aarnioís designs is their propensity to confound those who are unfamiliar with them. Consider the woman who nearly spilled her drink sitting in the Tomato Chair. Another female guest at the opening asked a man standing near her to sit in the same chair just so she could see how it was done. She said she was afraid that she couldnít get out of it with dignity wearing her skirt. But maybe dignity is beside the point. Who cares about dignity when you can sit in a chair that evokes such whimsy and sensuality? Some might think the 73-year-old designer is enjoying a new place in the spotlight in large part because of the renewed attention to so-called ìretroî styling. That could be, but these sturdy pieces, many of which are built from polished fiberglass, are built to last. One gets the feeling that Aarnio knew people would be talking about his work for years to come. The Finnish ambassador himself, Jukka Valtasaari, said it perfectly: ìIf the form is good, itís eternal,î he said. ìIt doesnít matter when it was made.î ìPop Fantasies: Furniture Design by Eero Aarnioî runs through May 8 at the Finnish Embassy, 3301 Massachusetts Ave., NW. For more information, please call (202) 298-5886 or visit www.finland.org. Michael Coleman is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.