Rare Narrow Alvar Aalto Table
Finland, 1930s

Description:

This writing desk or kitchen table is a fine example of designer Alvar Aalto’s bentwood furniture design, produced by his Artek workshop. The unusually narrow proportions of the piece, suggest this was a bespoke commission for a private collector. Made late 1930s, early 1940s.

Alvar Aalto (1898 - 1976), was a significant contributor of the International Style architectural movement since the opening on his firm in 1923. Working in collaboration with his first wife, architect Aino Marsio, they sought to create gersamkunstwerks - total works of art in which his designs would produce integrated spaces stimulating all senses. His intention was to design furniture recognisably modern, human - but most significantly, Finnish. Through his use of local birch wood in his furniture, Aalto imbued his designs with a warmth through curvilinear form. Focussing on the human through analysing the social implications of his designs, his humanist mode of practice inspired the likes of American designers Charles and Ray Eames, and George Nelson.

This vintage example displays beautifully his innovative bent-wood L leg, developed alongside Otto Korhonen at the start of his career. Re-surfaced in a thick aqua linoleum, this table is robust and elegant. Lovely for a difficult space.

Specifications:

Length: 152.5 cm

Depth: 60.5 cm

Height: 72 cm.

Materials: Birch wood, Birch laminate, linoleum.