Alvar Aalto
Finnish architect, designer and academic, known as one of the most important figures in 20th-century Architecture. Also remembered, along with architects such as Mies van der Rohe, Gropius, Lloyd Wright, and Le Corbusier, as one of the greatest masters of the Modern Movement. In 1931 he moved to Helsinki and in 1933 participated in the fourth CIAM and in the drafting of the Athens Charter. In 1932 he created a series of glasses with overlapping circular bands, drawing a decorative chiaroscuro simplifying in grip. His furniture was exhibited in Zurich and London in 1933, and the following year he created the firm "Artek" for the mass production of his furniture. From this time on he began to exhibit his most prestigious works in several countries: Italy, in Switzerland, Denmark and the United States. In 1940 he invented the famous "Y" leg, which would be redesigned fourteen years later as a fan leg, formed by sheets of plywood. Indeed, his 1931 Paimio armchair with curved wooden elements and his 1936 Savoy curvilinear vase became major design icons that gave rise to so-called "organic design." More generally, he was a comprehensive designer with a humanistic concern for man and his total environment.
Artek was founded in Helsinki in 1935 by four young idealists: Alvar and Aino Aalto, Maire Gullichsen and Nils-Gustav Hahl. Their goal was "to sell furniture and to promote a modern culture of living through exhibitions and other educational means. "In line with the radical spirit of its founders, today it remains an avant-garde character in the world of modern design, developing new products by joining design, architecture and art. The collection consists of furniture, lighting and accessories designed by Finnish masters and international designers. It stands for clarity, functionality and poetic simplicity. The name Artek is a synthesis of "art" and "technology", such as central concepts for the international modernist movement that came to prominence in the 1920s. From the beginning, the mission was to achieve a great synthesis of the arts, eroding the boundaries between fine arts, architecture and design. Artek’s manifesto outlines the vision of the four founders of the company. With titles such as Modern Art, Industry and Interior Design, Propaganda, the manifesto clarifies the company’s goals: to achieve a synthesis of the arts, to improve everyday life and to bring modernism to Finland - while spreading Alvar Aalto's Nordic interpretation of these principles to the world. Artek furniture is made in line with the original vision of Alvar Aalto to combine modern production methods with skillful craftsmanship and carefully selected materials. Regional supply and security are always priorities for both Artek and its partners, ensuring ethical production and lasting quality.
