60s Alvar Aalto model 82A dining table for Artek

Born, raised, and educated in Finland, Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) became the most iconic designer of the Finnish Modernism Movement. Aalto entered the Helsinki University of Technology in 1919 after serving in the Finnish war of national liberation. It was here that Aalto developed his romantic reactions to the sterile modernism developing in Germany.

Aalto pioneered much of the design work in bentwood techniques and was granted several patents on these in multiple countries. Aalto’s design principle was comprehensive, believing the interior concepts and furnishings must be in harmony with the whole of the building. He designed his first piece of furniture before he was a registered architect, and continued this practice throughout his very successful architectural career, starting with his first large commission, the Paimio Sanitorium (1928-1933). The demand for his furniture lead to the founding of Artek in 1935, which Aalto supervised until his death in 1976.