Gems from the Archive
Artek celebrates its 90th anniversary by reintroducing some gems from its archive — furniture pieces which are celebratory in both form and function.
This selection of treasured classics honours Alvar Aalto, co-founder of Artek and one of Finland’s greatest designers and architects. Several beloved Aalto designs, which have been out of standard production for decades, return to the Artek collection as limited anniversary editions or standard products.
The carefully chosen furniture pieces showcase some of the most distinctive aspects of the Finnish master’s merging of human-centric design with natural materials. The “X-leg”, one of the most sought-after Aalto design elements among collectors, appears in the form of a limited edition Stool X602. Combining the fan-shaped leg with a curly birch marquetry seat top, this special edition brings a sense of splendour to any setting. The X-leg was once described by New York’s Museum of Modern Art as “one of the most refined of all (Alvar Aalto’s) creations”. It evolves from Alvar Aalto and master carpenter Otto Korhonen’s famed bent birchwood “L-leg”, which serves as the basis for so many Artek furniture products.
The L-leg itself features in Cabinet 250, one of many elegant storage solutions created by Alvar and his fellow Artek co-founder, creative partner and wife Aino, during their period of prolific creativity in the 1930s. In keeping with Artek’s anniversary theme of celebration, the cabinet serves as a storage solution for everything needed for festive moments, such as refreshments and special tableware.
Screen 100, an embodiment of Alvar Aalto’s signature free-flowing, organic forms, is again available in a range of heights to accommodate the diverse needs of modern living. This much-loved and enduring room divider is evocative of Aalto’s finest architectural achievements, such as the undulating pine-clad ceiling at Viipuri Library or, when the newly available sizes are presented together, the rolling hills and lakes of the Finnish natural landscape.
Photography Joachim Wichmann, Copyright Artek
About Alvar Aalto
Recognised today as one of the great masters of modern architecture, Alvar Aalto {1898-1976) was born in Kuortane, Finland. During a long and prolific career, Aalto designed buildings for almost all key public institutions, as well as standardised housing and private homes. One of the co-founders of Artek, Aalto left a legacy with lasting resonance.
Aalto’ s architecture is distinctively Finnish, strongly individual, and marked by a warm humanity. His buildings derive their aesthetic character from their dynamic relationship with their natural surroundings, their human scale, superbly executed details, unique treatment of materials, and ingenious use of lighting. Aalto began designing furnishings as a natural extension of his architectural
thinking. His first modern piece of furniture was created in 1931-32 for the tuberculosis sanatorium in Paimio, Finland. Artek was set up in 1935 to market and sell his and his wife Aino’s furniture, lighting, and textiles, particularly on international markets.
Through his innovations in form and line, Alvar Aalto’s name has also become important in the history of design. In fact, Aalto first achieved fame in Continental Europe as a furniture designer, and only later as an architect. His contribution to furniture design was among his foremost achievements in its own right. Aalto’s furniture and lighting form the heart of the Artek range.
About Aino Aalto
Aino Aalto ( 1894-1949) was an architect, designer, and one of Artek’s founding figures. Upon graduating in 1920, Aino Marsio, as she was then known, started her professional career working for architect Oiva Kallio in Helsinki. In 1924, she moved to Alvar Aalto’s office; six months later, they married. Aino and Alvar came to work a great deal together, and their creative partnership was marked by absolute equality. Projects the Aaltos cooperated on include the world famous Villa Mairea in Noormarkku, the Paimio Sanatorium, and the Savoy Restaurant in Helsinki.
As a designer, Aino Aalto is primarily known for her work in glass and interior design, and then as a furniture designer. But her interests included architecture and photography, as well as various areas of applied art and design. Among many other things, she designed furniture, glassware objects, ceramics, lighting, and printed fabrics.
Aino Aalto came to play an important part at Artek; she was always closely involved in the company’s development, taking on the roles of Design Director and Managing Director. In many ways, it was Aino who laid the foundation for the aesthetics of Artek, which combined the modernist idea of clear form with simple surface ornamentation. Despite her untimely death, her international design legacy lives on, both in the Artek company and in her ever popular and much copied glassware.
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