Make a virtual visit to the exhibition produced by the Alvar Aalto Foundation and Gallery A-quad!

Aino and Alvar Aalto. Shared Visions. Innovations in Wood Bending Technology & Design of Furniture is now on show at the Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum in Kobe, Japan. The exhibition tells the story of Aino and Alvar Aalto’s furniture design and manufacturing, the founding of Artek, and the company’s subsequent decades. The museum is now closed to visitors, but you can still make a virtual visit to this fascinating exhibition and view it on video.

The exhibition, collaboratively produced by the Alvar Aalto Foundation and Gallery A-quad, focuses on furniture designed from the 1920s to 1970s and on the skill and craftsmanship that went into their making at the Korhonen Furniture Factory. Alvar Aalto’s innovations presented a challenge to master carpenter Otto Korhonen and his carpenters to develop a wood-bending technique and method of fabrication.

The exhibition also tells the story of the interior design company Artek founded in 1935 right from its first beginnings. Aino and Alvar Aalto’s internationally renowned glass design, ranging from glass objects to utility ware, also gets a well-earned place in the exhibition.

Most of the furniture, photographs and drawings in the exhibition are from the Alvar Aalto Foundation’s collections. The Aalto family has also provided material. The new objects in the exhibition are from Artek and from Fiskars’ Iittala collection.

Visit the exhibition virtually here.

View the video here.

Read the exhibition press release here.

The exhibition is the second of a four-part series: Aino & Alvar Aalto – Shared Visions. Small is beautiful – ideal homes for everyone. The first part was shown at the Takenaka Corporation’s Gallery A4 in Tokyo in winter 2019-2020. The third in the series will open at the Setagaya Art Museum in Tokyo in February 2021, and the fourth exhibition at the Hyogo Prefectural Art Museum in July 2021, combining the contents of the previous shows into an extensive touring exhibition.

Further information
Alvar Aalto Museum
Curator Timo Riekko
timo.riekko@alvaraalto.fi

Photo of the Paimio Chair, 1932. Photo Maija Holma, Foundation.

Skilled carpenters at work at the Korhonen Furniture Factory in 1936. Photo Mauno Mannelin, Alvar Aalto Foundation.