Alvar Aalto (1898–1976) is the most internationally famous Finnish architect and designer. Alvar Aalto – Art and the Modern Form will open up new perspectives into Aalto’s life and work.

The comprehensive exhibition will illustrate how Aalto’s thinking and design idiom developed in interaction with contemporary visual artists. In addition to presenting Aalto’s extensive oeuvre, works will also be featured from his close friends and modernist masters, such as the American Alexander Calder and the Frenchman Fernand Léger. The exhibition also highlights the role of the Artek furniture and design company, established in 1935, as a contributor to the Finnish art scene.

The exhibition is produced by the Vitra Design Museum, in cooperation with the Alvar Aalto Museum and the Ateneum Art Museum.

Hans Arp: Torso (Feuille/Leaf), based on a collage from 1941 (1959). | Fernand Léger: Composition aux contrastes (Contrasting Composition) (1937). | László Moholy-Nagy: Kestnermappe, no. 6 (1923). | Alexander Calder: Mobile (1930s).