Eeva Anneli ("Anu") Pentikäinen ( Pasi; born 3 August 1942),
better known professionally as Anu Pentik, is a
Finnish designer and
ceramicist.
Early life and education
Pentik's mother died when she was only six, after which she had to assume responsibility for running the household.
She trained as a home economist (), and later as arts & crafts instructor.
Pentik is largely self-taught; pottery-making and leather craft started as her hobbies, before she decided to try her hand at them professionally.
Career
Pentik set up her eponymous ceramics and interior design business in
Posio
Posio is a municipality of Finland.
It is located in the province of Lapland. The municipality has a population of
() and covers an area of of
which
is water. The population density is
. Neighbour municipalities are Rovaniemi, Kemijärvi, Ra ...
, Lapland, in 1971, together with her husband Topi Pentikäinen.
The first products were sold at the village petrol station.
The first retail store in Helsinki opened five years later,
and over the next forty years the business grew to comprise 80 stores in Finland and other
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...
,
making it one of Finland's leading design businesses.
The company is known for its focus on employee
well-being
Well-being is what is Intrinsic value (ethics), ultimately good for a person. Also called "welfare" and "quality of life", it is a measure of how well life is going for someone. It is a central goal of many individual and societal endeavors.
...
,
work-life-balance, and flexible work time arrangements.
It employs over 300 staff,
of whom 80% are women.
Pentik has remained throughout the artistic director of the family business, working full time into her late 70s.
Design
Pentik's designs are characterised by warm colours and organic shapes, and have been described as atmospheric.
Her products are designed to be sustainable, safe and long-lasting.
Exhibitions (selected)
In 1993, Pentik co-exhibited alongside her fellow industrial designers
Kaija Aarikka and
Vuokko Nurmesniemi
Vuokko Hillevi Lilian Eskolin-Nurmesniemi (born 12 February 1930 in Helsinki) is a Finnish textile designer. She is best known for her work as one of the two leading designers of the Marimekko company. Her signature striped ''Jokapoika'' shirt he ...
, in an exhibition titled ''"Kolme naista, kolme elämäntyötä"'' ( "Three women, three lifeworks") in
Ikaalinen
Ikaalinen (; ) is a city and municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa region, located northwest of Tampere. The town has a population of
() and covers an area of of
which
is water. The population density is
.
The municipalities ...
.
In 2006, she held her 35-year-retrospective exhibition ''"Intohimona keramiikka"'' ( "Ceramics as passion") at the
Retretti art museum in
Punkaharju
Punkaharju is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with the town of Savonlinna on January 1, 2013.
It was located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region
In geography, regions, otherwise ...
.
In 2017, Pentik's two-month solo exhibition "Three Rooms" in
Kunsthalle Helsinki
Kunsthalle Helsinki (, ) is a non-profit exhibition space founded by various Finnish artist and art associations in 1928. Presenting annually 5–7 major exhibitions and special events, the main focus of the exhibition programme lies in contemporar ...
formed part of the 100th anniversary celebrations of
Finland's independence
The Finnish Declaration of Independence (; ) was adopted by the Parliament of Finland on . It declared Finland to be independent from Russia, with reference to a bill simultaneously delivered to the Parliament to make Finland an independent ...
.
In 2020, she held a 50-year-retrospective solo exhibition at the
Wäinö Aaltonen Museum of Art in
Turku
Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...
.
Awards and honours
In 2012, Anu Pentik was conferred an
honorary doctorate
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
by the
University of Lapland
The University of Lapland ( Finnish: ''Lapin yliopisto'', Swedish: ''Lapplands universitet'') is a public university in Rovaniemi, Finland. It was established in 1979 and is the northernmost university in the European Union.
Around 4,000 und ...
's Faculty of Art and Design.
In 2014, she was awarded the ' medal of the
Order of the Lion of Finland
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
...
.
In 2021, Pentik received the Finnish State Prize for Design in recognition of her 50-year-career.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pentik, Anu
Finnish ceramists
Finnish designers
People from Kuusankoski
1942 births
Living people
Pro Finlandia Medals of the Order of the Lion of Finland