CURRICULUM VITAE
2014
Mr. ESA VESMANEN
Interior architect/ Designer, MA
Lives and works in Helsinki
Address Pure Design, Töölönkatu 11 A, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Tel +358 40511 0802
e-mail:
web www.puredesign.fi
Date of birth
18.07.1965 Turku, Finland
Esa Vesmanen is an interior architect, product designer and artist. His studio creates interactive exhibition designs, public interiors, products, furniture and public sculpture that prompt immersive experiences, and help us to discover new things about our surroundings, each other and ourselves. As an avid sailor he is fascinated by the subtle changes in the environment and how these can help us to discover beauty, bring us together and make us feel alive.
Vesmanen completed an MA degree in interior architecture and furniture design at the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture in Helsinki, and went on to do three years of post-graduate research in the Future Home Institute in the same academy. He subsequently spent a year in Paris studying at the prestigious design school ENSCI Les Ateliers.
Vesmanen has been curator and created the exhibition design for several international exhibitions that have promoted Finnish architecture and design including “Playful New Finnish Design” in New York in 2009, “1-2-3 Helsinki ! Design en Seine” in Paris in 2012 and “New Forms in Wood”, the Finnish entry to La Biennale di Venezia Architecture Biennale 2012.
His interior design projects include interiors that establish a strong brand identity including the award-winning Salme Optic, Luxbag shop and Kinnarps furniture headquarters, all in Helsinki, Finland.
Vesmanen’s work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions across Europe, as well as in Japan and the USA. He has received numerous awards and mentions through the years, including Interior Architect of the Year in 2008 by the Finnish Designers’ Association, Ornamo.
Education, teaching and lectures
2014 Speaker at Abundance seminar, Alvar Aalto Academy, Jyväskylä, Finland
2012-14 Teacher at Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences
2009 Speaker at the Scandinavian House, Finnish Design & Sustainability, New York
1997-98 Teacher at University of Art and Design Helsinki UIAH, Interior Architecture and Furniture Design
1999-2001 Post Graduate studies, Future Home Institute, Helsinki
1996 Master of Arts, University of Art and Design Helsinki UIAH, Interior Architecture and Furniture Design
1991-92 Ecole Nationale Superieure de Creation Industrielle, Les Ateliers, Paris
Professional expérience
2014 Tempisti - Design Harvest, new showroom and design concept with Helsinki Design Week in cooperation with Mr Ijäs and Ilmarinen corporation
2014 Luxbag, new luxury butique in the heart of the Helsinki, concept, space and furniture design
2014 Setelment buildings, customer experience concept for the residents
2013 Transformation, an exhibition of sustainable building design at the Museum of Finnish Architecture
2013 LAITURI, new info centre for the Helsinki City Planning Department, space and furniture design
2012 New Forms of Wood, exhibition architect for Finnish entry to the Venice Biennale for Architecture
2012 Curator and exhibition architect for 1-2-3-Helsinki! Design en Seine –exhibition, Paris
2011 Théhuone (Tearoom), interior and furniture design, Helsinki
2010 Helsinki Horizon 2030 Exhibition in London, Oslo, Berlin, Nice, Helsinki
2009 Curator and exhibition architect for Playful New Finnish Design –exhibition www.playfuldesign.net , New York Design Week
2009 Chief designer, Kinnarps furniture company headquarters Finland, Helsinki
2009 Exhibition design for Design Awards 2008/ Ornamo, Finnish Design, Brussels, Eindhoven, Madrid
2009 Honorary award in the design competition of the Finnish exhibition for the Shanghai Expo 2010,
in cooperation with Hilda Kozári and Teppo Turkki
2007 Chief designer, new home concept: Puustelli Open House, Helsinki
2005-06 Chief designer, Elements of Kitchen project in cooperation with
Electrolux, Franke Finland, Sato builders, Uponor and Puustelli kitchens
2005-08 Salme Optics, interior and furniture design, Helsinki
2005 Painter Albert Edelfelt, exhibition design, Finnish National Gallery Ateneum, Helsinki
2004 Finnagora –Finnish Cultural Center, Budapest, interior architecture and furniture design
2003 “Air”, installation for Hilda Kozari, Art Contemporary Museum- Kiasma, Helsinki
2003 L’Art entre Nuit et Jour, Finnish Institute, Paris, in cooperation with Musée Orsay
2001-02 The New Hungarian Culture and Science Center in Helsinki, renovation, architectural and furniture design
2001-02 Generation Nokia, design for permanent exhibition space for Nokia Networks, Helsinki in cooperation with Tuomas Antikainen
2000 Painter Hugo Simberg, exhibition design, Finnish National Gallery Ateneum, Helsinki
1999 “Muistan”, “I remember”, furniture and stage design for Claire Renard, Finnish National Gallery Ateneum, Helsinki
1993 "Positive e", lamp for Robert Wilson, New York
Joint exhibitions
2014 Finom lights at Design Harvest showroom, Helsinki Design Week
2013 SILENCE exhibition in the The Finnish Embassy in Washington D.C.
2011 Experimental Design Lab, Design Forum Finland
2010 Hirameki Design x Finland, Design exhibition Tokyo
2010 Art Fair Finland, Balance sound chair in the Cabel Factory Exhibition, Helsinki
2010 Ecolight 2010, Tube light in the Habitare Exhibition, Helsinki
2009 Finnish Design Month in Madrid
2009 Design Awards 2008/ Ornamo, Finnish Design, Brussels, Eindhoven, Madrid
2009 Re-interpreting Nature, Finnish Design, Budapest
2005 -09 KOE –kitchen installation, SAUMA design as a cultural interface www.saumadesign.net , Washington DC, New York, Los Angeles / USA, Helsinki Finland, Copenhagen, Stavanger Norway
2000 -05 La musique des mémoires, installation in cooperation with composer Claire Renard. Création Makasiinit/Helsinki/ 2000, tournée (2000-05) Fournos Art Center&News Technologies/ Athènes, Cordoaria Nacional/Lisbonne et Chapelle des Franciscains/Théâtre Athénor/Saint Nazaire , Festival Archipel -Genève (2005) .
2001 Design for the Future, congress and exhibition, Paris
2000 100 Design, design exhibition, Helsinki
2000 Think, design exhibition, National Gallery Ateneum, Helsinki
1999 Salone Internazionale Del Mobile/ Salonsatellite, Milano
1998 "Winter Depression - CoNeckting" H.Alptekin-A. Kayar – Hilda Kozári, Gallery Nev, Istanbul
1997 "Young designers", furniture exhibition, Helsinki, Nagano Japan
Solo exhibitions and public works
2011 Magic stones (Taikakivet) outdoor interactive sculpture, Arabian ranta residency area, Helsinki
2011 Lantern (Lyhty) outdoor sculpture in cooperation with Artist Hilda Kozári, Eläinlääkärin puisto -residency area, Helsinki
2009 Living Details , Exhibition. Design Forum Finland, Helsinki http://www.designforum.fi/pressrelease?pressrelease=14969933
2006-08 Chambre du temps, installation in cooperation with composer Claire Renard. Création Biennale Musiques en Scène/ Musée d’Art Contemporain de Lyon. Institut Finlandais Paris, Lönnström Art Museum, Rauma Finland
2004 Le souffle du temps. , installation in cooperation with composer Claire Renard. Création Festival 100 Dessus Dessous - Grande Halle de la Villette . Présentation maquette Chambre du Temps.
1997 "ballroom"-light and sound installation in cooperation with Hilda Kozári, music by composer Kaija Saariaho,
Museum of Contemporary Art, Budapest
1995 "Valo Virta"-light installation, in cooperation with Kozári Hilda, Hungarian Electromechanical Museum, Budapest
1995 "Immateria"-light installation, University library, Helsinki