Inger Persson (1936-2021) was one of Rörstrand's leading artists. Several of her works such as Popkannan are obviously one of the best in Swedish design history.
"Quality never gets out of style" and the expression feels spotless when you saw Inger Persson's classic works.
Inger Persson was with Rörstrand in Lidköping for 26 years. Educated at Konstfack's line for glass and ceramics, where she had Stig Lindberg as one of her teachers. Prior to that, she had worked as a glaze assistant at the assembly line at Gustavsberg.
The director at Rörstrand got to know about Inger Perssons qualities and offered her a probationary period.
Works from this time are shiny enamel glazed patterns that contrast with matte and rough chamotte.
Several of her models soon came into production at Rörstrand, which was a huge company at that time.
The stoneware birds she did in the early sixties. Through a decor that is both elegant and effective, each bird got its own expression.
Inger Persson drew inspiration from her travels abroad. Among other things, she traveled to the Chateau de Ratilly in France in 1960 and this is where she made the prototype for the legendary Pop jug.
- I turned an Alladin lamp in stoneware that turned out so well that I took it home to Rörstrand. There we adapted it to industrial production.
She went her own way when it came to glaze and color scheme. When Rörstrand's superstar Carl-Harry Stålhane became heavier in shape and browner in his tweed murky glazes, Inger Persson went in a different direction. She chose high-gloss enamel glazes.
After a tough match with the management at Rörstrand who thought one color was enough, the Pop jug came to be manufactured in five clear colors orange, yellow, white, green, and blue. It was in a way the plastic's clear color scale that got to liven up thousands of years of tea and craft traditions. The years have passed, but these jugs have retained their freshness. "She has cast a kind of eternal youth in her ceramics" The Pop jug received a prestigious international design award in 1969. And sold well both in Sweden and internationally.
The Lunik series also comes from the late sixties. Here is one of my special favorites. A vase that looks like a fried egg on one foot.
In 1970, Inger Persson, like most other designers, was fired along with all the artists and two hundred other employees at Rörstrand. She then established herself as a ceramics teacher at Helliden Folk High School in Tidaholm, where she stayed for over twenty years. She also opened her own ceramics workshop in Gösslunda outside Lidköping, where she made pottery and some tiles.
From the eighties, Inger Persson developed a style with geometric elements. It gave a clarity to the patterns which was enhanced by a distinct and intricate color scheme. In the nineties, there was a lot of what she calls "Sunday goods". From this time, there are faience dishes with green decor with refined pattern refinements and subtle color, pattern and hue.
She made the vase called Snurran. These have an energetic pattern that, as it were, changes shape in a vital optical play.
She drew inspiration from nature, sometimes from other people's stuff, but above all at work. When she worked, new ideas were born all the time.
A characteristic of her is a straightforwardness and creative joy that sparkles in redemptive humor. She would probably create art and give of her personality to whatever material was put in her hands.
Inger Persson - One of Swedens leading designers
Posted by Christel Lund on