New York to host first US retrospective of the Aaltos’ pioneering work for Artek
Function and Form in Harmony
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Aino Marsio‐Aalto & Alvar Aalto in the Artek‐Pascoe showroom, New York, 1940
Photo © Herbert Matter; courtesy of Aalto Family Collection
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Artek furniture in the Finnish Pavilion at the New York World’s Fair, 1939
Image courtesy of Alvar Aalto Museum
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Alvar Aalto's Armchair for Tuberculosis Sanatorium, Paimio, Finland; manufactured by Oy Huonekalu‐ja Rakennustyötehdas Ab, 1931‐32
Digital Image © The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA / Art Resource, NY
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Tank Chair with zebra upholstery
Image courtesy of Alvar Aalto Museum
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Artek store on Fabianinkatu, Helsinki, 1939
Image courtesy of Alvar Aalto Museum
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Alvar Aalto's Stacking Armchair; manufactured by Oy Huonekalu‐ja Rakennustyötehdas Ab, 1931‐32
Digital Image © The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA / Art Resource, NY
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Aino Marsio-Aalto & Alvar Aalto's Viipuri Library, interior of the children’s section and curtain for a washbasin, 1935
Photo © Gustav Welin; Image courtesy of Alvar Aalto Museum
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lvar Aalto's Stacking Stools, manufactured by Oy Huonekalu‐ja Rakennustyötehdas Ab, 1932‐33
Digital Image © The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA / Art Resource, NY
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Alvar Aalto's Savoy Vase, manufactured by Karhula‐Iittala Glassworks, 1936‐37
Digital Image © The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA / Art Resource, NY
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Aino Marsio‐Aalto & László Moholy‐Nagy on the Oulujoki‐river, 1931
Image courtesy of Alvar Aalto Estate, Alvar Aalto Museum
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Aino Marsio‐Aalto, ca. 1945
Image © Aalto Family Collection
In a few weeks, New York’s Bard Graduate Center Gallery will open Artek and the Aaltos: Creating a Modern World, the first exhibition in the United States to examine pioneering Finnish design company Artek (founded in 1935) alongside the practices of its two architect co-founders, husband and wife team, Alvar Aalto (1898–1976) and Aino Marsio-Aalto (1894–1949). The aim of the exhibition is to shine a light on Artek’s under-recognized and multifaceted mission, which far exceeded the manufacturing of bentwood furniture, for which the brand is best known.
Organized in collaboration with the Alvar Aalto Foundation in Helsinki, Artek and the Aaltos: Creating a Modern World will feature approximately 200 works—many never before exhibited publicly—including architectural drawings, drawings and sketches for interiors and furniture, paintings, photography, furniture, glassware, lighting, and textiles. Of special interest is the unprecedented number of original architectural drawings from the Aalto Foundation, as well as photographs, sketches, and drawings from the Aalto family and from the Artek archive.
Among the most important of these are Aino Marsio-Aalto’s student sketchbooks; drawings by Alvar Aalto of his wife; and a small selection of signed photographs by László Moholy-Nagy (1895–1946), which he sent to Alvar Aalto after visiting the Aaltos in Finland in 1931. Also on view are a recently discovered copy of Aino Marsio-Aalto’s travel diary, long thought lost, which she kept while visiting Brussels, Paris, and Zurich in the months just before Artek was founded; unpublished drawings for the Sunila Pulp Factory (1936–37), Villa Mairea (1938–39), Säynätsalo Town Hall (1950–52), and the Kaufmann Conference Rooms in New York City (1961–63); and a rare group of bentwood furniture by Alvar Aalto from a private collection in Finland with original finishes and colors. Additional loans will reveal the range of interior projects that Artek received independently of Alvar Aalto’s office, such as the highly ambitious Helsinki Airport, a two-phase project begun in 1938 and completed in 1948.
“This project,” said BGC curator Nina Stritzler-Levine, “provides a rare opportunity to reveal the contribution of a pioneering woman architect and a pioneering architect couple. Remarkably, Aino Marsio-Aalto and Alvar Aalto’s practices closely resemble the working life of architect couples today. Moreover, their vision has a particular relevance in contemporary design, architectural, and art discourse because the Artek mission eliminated hierarchies in art practices, as well as advocated standardization, which argued against novelty in favor of finding variety and diversity through spatial distinctions, color, texture, and composition.”
Artek and the Aaltos: Creating a Modern World will be on view at the Bard Graduate Center Gallery in New York City from April 22 through September 25, 2016.
* All images courtesy of Bard Graduate Center Gallery
More to Love
Vintage Model 69 Chair by Alvar Aalto for Artek
Square Coffee Table by Alvar Aalto for Artek
Blue Butterfly Chair from Artek Pascoe
Vintage Model Y 61 by Alvar Aalto Stool for Artek
Model 60 Stool by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1950s
Vintage Model 69 Chairs by Alvar Aalto for Artek, Set of 4
Drop Leaf Extendable Dining Table by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1940s
Vintage Model 65 Children's Chair by Alvar Aalto for Artek
Prewar Chair 69 by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1940s
Model 69 Chair by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1940s
Coat Rack by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1940s
Vintage Model 66 Dining Chairs by Alvar Aalto for Artek, Set of 6
Model 406 Chairs by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1980
Children's Work Table by Alvar Aalto for Artek
A330S Golden Bell Pendant by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1960s
Model 66 Dining Set by Alvar Alto for Artek, 1960s
Vintage Model 9029 Ceiling Lamp by Paavo Tynell for Taito
Finnish Brass Pendant Lamp by Paavo Tynell for Idman, 1950s
Model 9227 White Desk Lamp by Paavo Tynell for Idman, 1950s
Finnish Stools by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1929, Set of 2
Finnish Model 69 Dining Chairs by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1930s, Set of 4
Mid-Century Finnish Model 66 Dining Chairs by Alvar Aalto for Artek, Set of 2
Mid-Century Finnish Model 45 Armchair by Alvar Aalto for Artek
Vintage Fan Leg Stool by Alvar Aalto for Artek
Vintage Fan Leg Coffee Table by Alvar Aalto for Artek
Dining Table by Alvar Aalto for Artek/Finmar, 1936
Model 66 Dining Chairs by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1950s, Set of 4
Swedish Stools by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1950s, Set of 6
Hallway 51 Armchairs by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1940s, Set of 2
Beech & Linoleum Dining Set by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1950s
Finnish Coat Rack by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1950s
Wall Shelf by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1960s
Vintage Model 66 Dining Chairs by Alvar Aalto for Artek, Set of 4
Vintage Model 42 Lounge Chair by Alvar Aalto for Artek
Armchair Model 406 By Alvar Aalto For Artek
Table Lamp by Paavo Tynell for Idman, 1950s
Model 401 Lounge Chair by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1960s
Paimio Chair by Alvar Aalto for Artek
Model 9772 Table Lamp by Paavo Tynell for Idman, 1950s
Model 9068 White and Brass Ceiling Lamp by Paavo Tynell for Idman, 1950s
Mid-Century Scandinavian Wall Lights by Paavo Tynell for Idman, 1960s
Solid Pine Room Divider by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1930s
Fan Leg Coffee Table by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1970s
36/401 Chair by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1950s
Stool 60 by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1950s
X602 Fan Leg Stool by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1954
Finnish Desk Lamp by Paavo Tynell for Taito Oy, 1930s
Model 65 Chairs by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1970s, Set of 3
Vintage E45 Chair by Alvar Aalto for Artek
Mid-Century Floor Lamp by Paavo Tynell for Idman
Vintage Table Lamp by Paavo Tynell for Idman, 1950s
Model 45 Chairs by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1970s, Set of 4
Vintage A805 Floor Lamp by Alvar Aalto for Artek
Model 82A Dining Table by Aalvar Aalto for Artek, 1960s
Vintage Desk and Stool by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1970s
Outdoor Wall Light in Copper by Paavo Tynell for Idman, 1950s
Vintage 112A Birch Plywood Wall Shelves by Alvar Aalto for Artek, Set of 2
Model 66 Dinner Chairs by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1960s, Set of 4
Bench by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1970s
K2-16 Copper & Opaline Glass Pendant by Paavo Tynell for Idman, 1950s
Vintage Beech Chairs by Alvar Aalto for Artek, Set of 6
Model K2-20 Brass Pendant Ceiling Lamp by Paavo Tynell for Idman
Vintage 36/401 Wingback Lounge Chair by Alvar Aalto for Artek
White Bench by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1970s
Formica Coffee Table by Alvar Aalto for Artek
Bentwood Chair by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1960s
Birch Chairs by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1960s, Set of 4
Circular Dining Table by Alvar Aalto for Artek
Armchair No. 51 by Alvar Aalto for Artek
Model 406 Armchair by Alvar Aalto for Artek
Stools by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1960s, Set of 3
Pre-War Stools by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1934, Set of 3
60 Stools by Alvar Aalto for Artek, Set of 2
Fan Leg Coffee Table by Alvar Aalto for Artek
Birch Model 406 Chairs by Alvar Aalto for Artek
Stools by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1940, Set of 2
Mid Century Dining Chairs by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1950s, Set of 4
Model 31 Lounge Chair by Alvar Aalto for Artek/Wohnbedarf, 1930s
Bench Model 153A by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1970s
Armchair by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1933
Model 112b Wall Shelves by Alvar Aalto for Artek, Set of 4
Vintage 401 Lounge Chair by Alvar Aalto for Artek Finland
Vintage Bar Stools by Alvar Aalto for Artek, Set of 2
Model 69 Chairs by Alvar Aalto for Artek, Set of 3
65 Child Chair by Alvar Aalto for Artek
Dining Chairs by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1950s, Set of 4
Vintage Floral Chandelier by Paavo Tynell, 1950s
E60 Stool by Alvar Aalto for Artek
Lounge Chairs by Ilmari Tapiovaara for Artek, Set of 2
Vintage Ceiling Light by Paavo Tynel
Vintage Fan Table by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1960s
Model 68 Chair by Alvar Aalto, 1935
Side Table or Desk by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1935
Small Birch Dining Table by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1950s
Finnish X600 Beech Stool by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1950s
Vintage Y-Leg Stool Mod. Y61 by Alvar Aalto for Artek
Model 9068 Ceiling Lamp by Paavo Tynell for Idman Oy, 1950s
Finnish Table Set by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1980s, Set of 6
Finnish Model 66 Chairs by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1980s, Set of 4
K-10 Floor Lamp by Paavo Tynell for Idman
Finnish Dining Table by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1960s
9227 Desk Lamp by Paavo Tynell for Idman, 1950s
Mid-Century Wall Shelves Model 112b by Alvar Aalto for Artek, Set of 4
Cantilever Easy Chair 406 by Alvar Aalto for Artek
Finnish Stool by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1950s
MX800A Coffee Table by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1980s
Model 66 Dining Chairs by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1960s, Set of 4
Golden Bell Pendant Lamp by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1950s
Mid-Century Dining Set by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1955
Finnish Fan Leg Stools by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1960s, Set of 2
Paimio Armchairs by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1930, Set of 2
Cantilevered Armchair by Alvar Aalto for Artek, circa 1970
Armchairs by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1960s, Set of 4
Stool by Alvar Aalto for Artek
Armchairs 42 by Alvar Aalto for Artek, Set of 2
Mid-Century Finnish 9031 Ceiling Light by Paavo Tynell for Taito, 1960s
82A Table by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1970s
Birch Side Chair by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 1937