K65 Stool by Alvar Aalto for Artek, 70’s

About the Item

Stool mod. K65 was designed by Alvar Aalto between 1933 and 1935. The height is designed for combinations with high tables or counters. The lowered backrest offers the right support for the back and the curved crosspiece at the bottom offers good support for the feet. The K65 is characterized by the use of the multi-layer of curved birch. The K65 series represents style and substance, since the 1930s. Made in Finland by Artek. Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (Kuortane, February 3, 1898 - Helsinki, May 11, 1976) was a Finnish architect, designer and academic, one of the most important figures in 20th century architecture and remembered - together with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Walter Gropius, Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier - as a master of the Modern Movement. The name Artek has always evoked a design icon. And it could not be otherwise given that the founder, Alvar Aalto, was one of the pioneers of Scandinavian design. Born in 1935 to create and promote the furnishings designed by the Finnish architect, Artek soon transformed its mission, thanks to the contributions of the other three partners, Aino Aalto, Maire Gullichsen and Nils-Gustav Hahl. The founders pursued the intention of producing objects that integrate art and technology, as the name itself suggests. Artek has always favored the use of natural materials, starting with wood, the raw material that is the foundation of Alvar Aalto's work. From the experiments of the master on curved wood and on the joints of solid wood, objects with a fluid and organic line are born, characterized by an extraordinary duration over time. Indestructible stools, armchairs, tables and chairs, made in the 1930s, are still in use today, and the minimalist design makes them suitable for any location, from residential to public facilities. Artek objects have always been mass-produced and hand-finished by skilled craftsmen. The production is mostly concentrated in the Turku plant, in Finland, where the carpenters, specialized in the manual bending of birch, in the production of laminated wood, plywood and veneers and in lacquering, produce the finished pieces without the help of intermediaries.

Creator:

Alvar Aalto (Designer),Artek (Manufacturer)

Dimensions:

Height: 28.35 in (72 cm)Diameter: 13.59 in (34.5 cm)Seat Height: 23.63 in (60 cm)

Style:

Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)

Materials and Techniques:

Birch

Place of Origin:

Finland

Period:

1970-1979

Date of Manufacture:

1960s-1970s

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use.

Seller Location:

Padova, IT

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU6345235560592

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Shop All Alvar Aalto

Alvar Aalto

An architect and designer, Alvar Aalto deserves an immense share of the credit for bringing Scandinavian modernism to a prominent place in the global arena. In both his buildings and in his vintage furniture — which ranges from chairs, 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 in 1930 as part of his overall design of a Finnish tuberculosis sanatorium. Comfortable, yet light enough to be easily moved by patients, the 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 at the headrest and beneath the knees, creating a sort of pillow effect. Aalto’s use of plywood had 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 his wife, Aino Aalto, 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.