Studio Kukkapuro and Gallery Lemmetti presents an exhibition celebrating Yrjö Kukkapuro’s Nelonen series. The exhibition offers a rare opportunity to explore the extensive Nelonen chair ensemble, spanning from 1988 to the early 2000s.
Nelonen is an umbrella term for a group of chairs by Yrjö Kukkapuro consisting of unique pieces and small series.
“At his studio, Yrjö had a stock of components as well as a large number of slats and sticks – ‘kepukat’ – which he used to test materials and ideas,” says Isa Kukkapuro-Enbom.
The Nelonen chairs are unrestricted in their use of materials: aluminium, plexiglass, plywood, solid wood, laminate and even ice hockey sticks were all suitable raw materials. Eventually, the chair also evolved into a walking aid, a Nelonen fitted with wheels, which served Kukkapuro in his final years.
In 2024, Kukkapuro explained the origin of the chair’s name:
“Turn the number four upside down and it looks like a simple chair. At primary school, we sometimes got a four as a test grade. If you didn’t want to reveal this embarrassing fact, you’d say, ‘I got a chair.’ In my case, this chair business has come quite literally true.”
Yrjö Kukkapuro: Nelonen Model 4
9–26.4.2026
Gallery Lemmetti
Yrjönkatu 8, Helsinki
Open
thu-fri 2–6 pm
sat-sun 12–4 pm
More info: Isa Kukkapuro-Enbom, isa@dodo.fi 040 5005 202
In the 1990s, Kukkapuro began exploring the use of so‑called “waste wood,” a material considered to have little value, in furniture design. He acquired a large quantity of alder, which led to the development of a wooden furniture collection at the Korvenranta carpentry workshop in Lahti. The collection was given the Latin name Alnus, the scientific name for alder.
The best-known piece in the series is Alnus Poster Model 4, a chair that initially existed as an image designed by graphic designer Tapani Aartomaa for a poster. Based on this image, a numbered edition of 36 chairs was produced in 1993. Kukkapuro and Aartomaa also collaborated on other graphic chairs.
A new poster has been designed for Gallery Lemmetti’s exhibition, featuring the Nelonen chairs stacked on top of one another. It was created by Fabian Harb and his colleagues at the Swiss design studio Dinamo. The poster is available for purchase at the gallery during exhibition opening hours.