Artek / Alvar

ARTEK AND THE AALTOS: CREATING A MODERN WORLD EDITED BY NINA STRITZLER-LEVINE WITH TIMO RIEKKO

Established in 1935 by the Finnish architects Aino Marsio-Aalto and Alvar Aalto and their co-founders, Maire Gullichsen and Nils-Gustav Hahl, the design company Artek created innovative interiors for distinctly modern spaces, such as cinemas and airports, in addition to the Aaltos' most important buildings.

Inspired by the Bard Graduate Center's exhibition Artek and the Aaltos, the first outside Finland to be devoted to the company, this richly illustrated book features furniture, glassware and lighting, design sketches, drawings, textile swatches, and photographs, many of which have never before been published.

Included are essays by international scholars, including Harry Charrington, Timo Keinänen, Juhani Pallasmaa, Susanna Pettersson, Arthur Rüegg, Renja Suominen-Kokkonen, Nina Stritzler-Levine, Leena Svinhufvud, and Rasmus Wærn.

Artek and the Aaltos brings to light under-recognized aspects of the Artek. legacy, including the company's interior commissions and showrooms, the Artek art gallery, and the significant role played by Aino Marsio-Aalto as a. designer and as the company's first creative director. The book seeks to redefine Artek's corporate identity by focusing on its retail history, as well as on the company's extensive interiors department under Marsio-Aalto's direction. As Artek's iconic bentwood furniture brought Finnish design to modern homes across the globe, the company shaped and disseminated a distinct interpretation of modernism informed by the needs of everyday life.

Of special interest to enthusiasts of modern architecture and design are Artek's "manifesto," a unique diagram articulating the company's principles, and a discussion of the Aaltos' desire to establish an international research institute in the United States devoted to the study of modern architecture and design.