Vesa Varrela
Graduated from the Rauma Teacher Training School, University of Turku, Rauma, Finland, 1982. Graduated from the Department of Industrial Design at the University of Industrial Arts Helsinki (UIAH, presently the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture), Finlandia, 1987 and taught there in the period 1987–2003. Received an M.A. from the Department of Industrial Design, UIAH, 1996.
He has received over 30 national and international grants, scholarships and awards for his work, including the Cross of Merit of the Order of the White Rose of Finland, bestowed by the president of Finland, 2010.
He has participated in over 30 individual exhibitions in Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the USA, and in more than 130 group exhibitions in Finland, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Japan, Morocco and the USA.
His works are exhibited in many museums including the Design Museum, Helsinki; Helsinki Art Museum, Helsinki; the Finnish Glass Museum, Riihimäki, Finland; MAVA Contemporary Art Museum, Alcorcón, Spain; Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design (ETDM), Tallinn, Estonia; The Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague, Czech Republic.
From 2002 to 2013 he has designed 11 artworks in public spaces.
He loves travelling, reading, fishing, sailing and having a sauna from time to time.