The retrospective Kaj Franck – Timeless Finland Design presents Kaj Franck’s work on an unprecedented scale in Japan. The exhibition begins its two-year tour of Japan at the Oita Prefectural Art Museum on Saturday, April 25, 2026. Produced by Asahi Shimbun in collaboration with the Architecture & Design Museum Helsinki, the exhibition traces Franck’s career from his early works to his later production. A special emphasis is placed on Franck’s relationship with Japanese culture, explored through his three trips to Japan.

More than 250 works from the collections of the Architecture & Design Museum are on display. The exhibition has been curated on behalf of the museum by exhibition curator Harry Kivilinna.

A Major Retrospective Showcasing a Cornerstone of Finnish Design

Kaj Franck – Timeless Finland Design offers a comprehensive overview of Kaj Franck’s work across different periods. The exhibition includes works designed for the Arabia and Nuutajärvi factories: mass-produced ceramics and glass, as well as unique art glass pieces. Alongside his clean-lined and minimalist forms, the exhibition also presents Franck’s earlier work, such as printed textiles and wooden toys from the 1940s.

From the mid-1960s onwards, art glass becomes a central focus. The glass objects represent numerous techniques that Franck developed in collaboration with master glassblowers at Nuutajärvi.

The influence of Japan on Franck’s design language is evident, for example, in several ceramic objects he designed for Arabia. The exhibition is complemented by an extensive selection of sketches and photographs from the Kaj Franck archive of the Architecture & Design Museum, offering insights into his working process and thinking.

“Kaj Franck is one of the best-known Finnish designers in Japan, and Timeless Finland Design is his first major retrospective in the country. The exhibition highlights his deep interest in Japanese culture, which led him to make three trips to Japan. It showcases his pioneering thinking, in which design served as a means of addressing societal challenges”, says the exhibition’s project manager Tomoe Takagi from Asahi Shimbun.

“Kaj Franck – Timeless Finland Design is already the third touring exhibition on Finnish design in Japan produced by the Architecture & Design Museum in collaboration with Asahi Shimbun.  Marimekko-Design, Fabric, Lifestyle (2015–2017), focusing on Marimekko’s history and present day, and Iittala – The Stars of Finnish Glass (2022–2024) were both popular touring exhibitions. The exhibition opening will undoubtedly continue along the same path of success. Finnish design seems to hold a special place in the hearts of the Japanese,” says Kivilinna.

The exhibition also features several other Finnish designers, such as Oiva Toikka, Vuokko Nurmesniemi, Heikki Orvola, and Harri Koskinen, whose careers or work were directly influenced by Franck.

The exhibition begins its two-year tour of Japan at the Oita Prefectural Art Museum on Saturday, 25 April 2026. A Japanese-language publication, Kaj Franck – Timeless Finnish Design, published by Asahi Shimbun and edited by Tomoe Takagi, will be released in conjunction with the exhibition.

Exhibition Tour 

• • April – June 2026: Oita Prefectural Art Museum
  • July – September 2026: Iwami Art Museum
  • October – December 2026: Museum Eki KYOTO
  • January – March 2027: Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery

Additional venues will be announced later. 

Kaj Franck

Kaj Franck (1911–1989) is one of Finland’s most internationally renowned designers, whose beautifully practical objects continue to inspire new generations of designers. Franck graduated in 1932 as an interior architect from the Central School of Industrial Arts in Helsinki.

During the 1930s and 1940s, he worked in various roles in interior design companies and designed printed textiles, among other things, for the Helsinki Dye Works. In 1948, the Arabia ceramics factory appointed Franck as its artistic director. His best-known tableware designs for Arabia include Kilta (1953) and its successor Teema (1981).

In 1951, Franck became the artistic director of the Nuutajärvi glassworks, and from the mid-1950s onwards glass became his primary material. In the 1960s, he worked as a teacher at the Institute of Industrial Arts in Helsinki, significantly influencing an entire generation of designers. After ending his teaching career, Franck focused on art glass and experimental glassmaking techniques at Nuutajärvi.

The Architecture & Design Museum’s extensive Kaj Franck collection consists of more than 7,000 objects, photographs, and drawings.