The optical properties of glass and the refraction of light interested Tapio Wirkkala. In natural forms, he was interested above all in movement and structure.

"Rings, rings and rhythms. Whirls in a flow. Ever again – and a feeling of something, itself reflected and making reflected images. The movement of light – a moment that has passed. Already gone," wrote Tapio Wirkkala in 1984.

In the objects that he designed for the Finnish market, Wirkkala applied colour sparingly, but his pieces for Venini in Murano - Venice display an almost boundless colour chart and he was particularly fascinated by the different tradition of the Venetian glassblowers. In both Finland and Venice, he always sought the most direct contact possible with the glassblowers while working in the glasshouse.