This is a ceramic statue of a cat (Katt) from the Stora Zoo series designed by Lisa Larson for Gustavsberg in 1958. It is one of the earliest pieces created when Lisa Larson made her debut as a ceramic artist.
Lisa Larson joined Gustavsberg in 1954 at the young age of 23. The small cat with a standing tail that she had submitted to a competition in 1953, while still a student, caught the eye of Stig Lindberg, who later released it as the "Lilla Zoo" series. Lisa Larson is known as a cat lover and has always lived with pet cats. She has created about 30 works with cat motifs in her lifetime, including the ceramic statue of a sleeping cat named Mozef, which was modeled after her actual pet cat.
The "Little Zoo" series became a huge hit at the time due to its novelty. Following its success, "Stora Zoo" was released in 1958, featuring larger animals. The basic design is a direct successor to Lisa Larson's Stora Zoo, but this ceramic statue is over 30cm wide, about the size of a real kitten. Its dimensions are 32.5cm wide, 11cm high, and 8cm deep, making it ideal for use as interior decoration in large spaces such as near a window.
The fur is like that of a pheasant, and the moist texture of the glaze gives it a calming effect. The cute mouth and the tail stretched out to the side give it a natural look, as if it were walking and suddenly turning towards you. The roundness of the buttocks when seen from behind is also very cute, and it shows the characteristic of a cat walking while wagging its buttocks. Lisa Larson has created several cat pieces, but this is one of her earliest works and is an outstanding ceramic statue among the vintage pieces.
■Details Manufacturer: Gustavsberg Designer: Lisa Larson Series name: Stora Zoo / Big Zoo
Title: Katt
Era: 1958-1979 Country of Origin: Sweden
Condition: ★★★★★ (5: Complete)
There are no cracks, chips, crazing, or paint loss, and the original sticker is still there. At Gustavsberg, two maker's stickers are usually attached to large ceramic statues, but it is rare to find both still there. This is a perfect item that has been preserved exactly as it was when it was made.
■Size
Width 32cm Height 11cm Depth 9cm
Gustavsberg's G-Studion
Apart from the mass production line, Gustavsberg had a department called G-Studion. Famous designers such as Willhelm Koge, Stig Lindberg and Lisa Larsson created their artwork here.
Founded in 1942, G Studio was a group of artists, designers, craftsmen and illustrators whose activities ranged from creative work to exhibition ceramics, public space art production and industrial design. . It operated until 1993 and served as an ``aesthetic laboratory''. It was also responsible for providing design ideas for Gustavsberg's mass-produced products.
G-Studio was a renovated atelier in an old building from a ceramics factory in Gustavsberg, and was a hub for more than 100 artists and craftsmen. It is no exaggeration to say that Gustavsberg's ceramic tradition of the 20th century originated from here. It was a centerpiece of the Swedish art and design world and served as a breeding ground for new creativity.
Each piece of G Studio's work is handmade, and there are videos showing the production process. The video shows a man wearing round glasses, designer Stig Lindberg. And on the right side you can see Willhelm Koge, who was the studio director.
Lisa Larson
Lisa Larson (1931-2024)
A world-renowned Swedish ceramicist, he was born in Härlunda, a village of about 500 people in the Älmhult district of Kronoberg county in the Småland region in southern Sweden.
As a child, she aspired to be a fashion designer, but after enrolling at the Gothenburg Academy of Art, she studied ceramics. One day, she was discovered by Stig Lindberg at a competition, and after a one-year probationary period, she officially joined Gustavsberg as a designer. Shortly thereafter, in 1955, she released the Lilla Zoo series, and in 1964, she came up with the Afrika series, famous for its lion statues.
Lisa Larson has not only worked for Gustavsberg, but has also provided designs for Höganäs, the major domestic retailer Åhléns, and the German ceramic manufacturer Rosenthal. After leaving Gustavsberg in 1979, she became a freelance artist, working on a voluntary basis with companies, rather than as an exclusive contractor, and continued to work freely in various fields. In 1979 and 1981, she held solo exhibitions at Seibu Department Store in Tokyo, and the 1981 exhibition was visited by a total of 70,000 people.