The exhibition tells the story of Aino and Alvar Aalto’s collaboration on architecture and design. They both saw architecture as an integrated whole, and in the 1920s and 30s a particular focus was on studying ways of living and related solutions. The exhibition shows the history of the design and manufacture of the Aaltos’ furniture, and the development of the Artek furniture company founded in 1935.

The first exhibition in the series, Small is beautiful – ideal homes for everyone was shown at Gallery A-quad, Tokyo in winter 2019-20, and the second, Innovations in Wood Bending Technology & Design of Furniture, at the Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum, Kobe, in spring 2020. The final exhibition in the series, exhibited in July 2021 at Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo, and now at Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, Kobe, combines the contents of the two previous shows into an extensive touring exhibition.

The exhibition is produced in co-operation with the Alvar Aalto Foundation, Takenaka Scholarship Foundation and the Aalto Family.

Read more from the press release.

Photo:
Aino and Alvar Aalto: Shared Visions exhibition on show in Kobe, Japan. © Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art.