Dining set designed by Alvar Aalto for Finmar
Finland, 1929
Birch.Marked.
This rare dining set by the Finish design icon Alvar Aalto is characterised by the combination of the chair's distinctive curves and the table's circular form — the round Lazy Susan is reflected in the tabletop's round surface. The structure and warm honey colour of the birch wood are remarkable and generally characterise Aalto's iconic furniture designs.
The set is a very early edition retailed by the company Finmar, a wholesale company founded in 1934 to market Alvar Aalto's plywood furniture in the UK. Aalto loved clean curves and bends, which he often integrated into his architecture and furniture designs. He is frequently referred to as "the modern master of the curve and sinuosity".
Alvar Aalto was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, lighting, and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, seeing painting and sculpture as "branches of the tree whose trunk is architecture." The pure Functionalist phase in Aalto’s work lasted for several years. It enabled him to make an international breakthrough, largely because of Paimio Sanatorium (1929-1933), an important Functionalist milestone. Aalto had adopted the principals of user-friendly, functional design in his architecture, and it was characteristic of Aalto to treat each building as a complete work of art – right down to the furniture and light fittings. The design of his furniture combined practicality and aesthetics with series production, encouraging a more beautiful everyday life in the home.
Table:
H: 72 cm / 2' 4 1/2"
Diameter: 117 cm / 3'10"
Chairs:
H: 84 cm / 2' 9"
W: 48 cm / 1' 7"
D: 60 cm / 1' 11 1/2"
SH: 43 cm / 1' 5"
Price: on application
