Alvar Aalto Finland, 1898-1976
Rare Stacking armchair, 1929
Molded plywood and solid birch.
70 x 51 x 55 cm
27 1/2 x 20 1/8 x 21 5/8 in
27 1/2 x 20 1/8 x 21 5/8 in
Manufactured by O.Y. Huonekalu- ja Rakennustyötehdas A.B., Turku, Finland
Further images
This armchair is one of Aalto’s early designs created during his formative years when modernist ideas were introduced in Finland. Enthousiastic about this new aesthetics evolving towards a more functional...
This armchair is one of Aalto’s early designs created during his formative years when modernist ideas were introduced in Finland. Enthousiastic about this new aesthetics evolving towards a more functional style, Alvar Aalto experimented with the possibilities of plywood that allowed him to create pieces of furniture more practical and less expensive.
Although Aalto embraced the modernist style by wanting to create a simple and utilitarian object with very few decoration, this armchair still displays a hint of Nordic classicism as it presents a softer shape with round angles. Already at this early stage in his career, Aalto kept a distance between his production and the Scandinavian rigid Functionalism by embracing a more humanist approach using organic shapes.
A similar model of the chair can be found in the permanent MOMA collection of Architecture and Design.
Although Aalto embraced the modernist style by wanting to create a simple and utilitarian object with very few decoration, this armchair still displays a hint of Nordic classicism as it presents a softer shape with round angles. Already at this early stage in his career, Aalto kept a distance between his production and the Scandinavian rigid Functionalism by embracing a more humanist approach using organic shapes.
A similar model of the chair can be found in the permanent MOMA collection of Architecture and Design.