Loja Saarinen

Loja Saarinen was a Finnish-American textile artist and sculptor who founded the weaving department at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. She also led her own studio, the Studio Loja Saarinen, which designed many of the textiles used in buildings designed by her husband, the architect Eliel Saarinen.

Minna Carolina Mathilde Louise "Loja" Gesellius was born March 16, 1879, in Helsinki, Finland, and studied art in Helsinki at Taideteollinen Keskuskoulu (1898–99) and Suomen Taideyhdistyksen Piirustuskoulu (1899-1902), and sculpture under Jean Antoine Injalbert at the Académie Colarossi in Paris.

Loja Saarinen started her career in 1928 when she founded the one of the most productive weaving departments in the United States at the Cranbrook Educational Community. Saarinen was heavily influenced by Swedish craft tradition. She was one of the first artists to bring Scandinavian design to America. Her most substantial work was for Kingswood School where her studio designed tapestries, rugs, curtains, and upholstery.

Saarinen's work is characterized by simple geometric designs in subtle light and dark contrasts, with a frequent use of complementary colors.