High Chair K65 'Set of 4' by Alvar Aalto from Artek 2nd Cycle

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About the Item

Originally designed in 1935, this set of four original production version High Chair K65 have been well-loved for years. Acquired through the Artek 2nd Cycle program and recently featured in an exhibition for Artek. Artek's statement in regards to the 2nd Cycle Program explains: "Sustainable 2nd Cycle items are part of Artek's environmental strategy. By creating the 2nd Cycle, Artek wants to raise the issue of conscious consuming, praise the authentic design and honor the importance of originality. Solidly made and impervious to fashion, these iconic pieces have gained value and beauty through everyday use." On my visit to Helsinki last April, I stopped in at the Artek 2nd Cycle gallery, nestled below-ground in a historic carriage house. A quick stop turned into an afternoon of discovery and awe of the depth of the collection available. I arrived just as Rolf Feldbaum of Vitra fame was leaving after making numerous purchases, himself. Artek tells the story in their 2nd Cycle statement, about a factory worker who brought in a 70 year old stool. Through the additional coats of paint they could guess the original finish by reading the clues through the layers. Some might have thought the stool looked "old and dodgy", but they thought it had "never looked more beautiful". These beautiful K65 high stools have been well-used together as a set for decades. The patina of use has added layers of character to this simple classic icon. Still amazingly sturdy they are a testament to Aalto's innovative and practical design. This is a simply beautiful and venerable set, and It is easy to imagine them as a centerpiece in a home or a museum's collection.

Creator:
Alvar Aalto (Designer)
Dimensions:
Height: 27.6 in (70.11 cm)Width: 15.7 in (39.88 cm)Depth: 15 in (38.1 cm)Seat Height: 23.6 in (59.95 cm)
Sold As:
Set of 4
Style:
Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Birch,Leather
Place of Origin:
Finland
Period:
1930-1939
Date of Manufacture:
1939-1959
Condition:
Minor losses. Leather is showing it's age although adding rustic beauty. The birch frames are still very sturdy and show wear consistent with age.
Seller Location:
Denton, MD
Reference Number:
Seller: 15.AALTO.STOOLK65.SET41stDibs: LU153623031232

Shop All Alvar Aalto

Alvar Aalto

An architect and designer, Alvar Aalto deserves an immense share of the credit for bringing Scandinavian modernism and Nordic design to a prominent place in the global arena. In both his buildings and his vintage furniture — which ranges from chairs, stools, tables and lighting to table- and glassware — Aalto’s sensitivity to the natural world and to organic forms and materials tempered the hardness of rationalist design.

Relatively few Aalto buildings exist outside Finland. (Just four exist in the United States, and only one — the sinuous 1945 Baker House dormitory at M.I.T. — is easily visited.) International attention came to Aalto, whose surname translates to English as “wave,” primarily through his furnishings.

Instead of the tubular metal framing favored by the Bauhaus designers and Le Corbusier, Aalto insisted on wood. His aesthetic is best represented by the Paimio armchair, developed with his wife, Aino Aalto, in 1930 as part of the overall design of a Finnish tuberculosis sanatorium.

Comfortable, yet light enough to be easily moved by patients, the Paimio chair’s frame is composed of two laminated birch loops; the seat and back are formed from a single sheet of plywood that scrolls under the headrest and beneath the knees, creating a sort of pillow effect. Aalto’s use of plywood had an enormous influence on Charles and Ray Eames, Arne Jacobsen, Marcel Breuer and others who later came to the material.

Concerned with keeping up standards of quality in the production of his designs, Aalto formed the still-extant company Artek in 1935, along with Aino, whose glass designs were made by the firm. In the latter medium, in 1936 the Aaltos together created the iconic, undulating Savoy vase, so-called for the luxe Helsinki restaurant for which the piece was designed.

Artek also produced Aalto pendants and other lighting designs, many of which — such as the Angel’s Wing floor lamp and the Beehive pendant — incorporate a signature Aalto detail: shades made of concentric enameled-metal rings graduated down in diameter. The effect of the technique is essential Alvar Aalto: at once precise, simple, and somehow poetic.

Find a collection of vintage Alvar Aalto stools, vases, dining tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.