Tonus by Aldo Bakker

In Aldo Bakker’s sculptural console tables, seating and decorative objects, the Dutch designer prioritizes form over function and increasingly blurs the lines between art and furniture.

Bakker began to craft jewelry and models for his parents in 1987. His father is Gijs Bakker, the designer and cofounder of Droog, and his mother is Emmy van Leersum, the avant-garde jewelry maker who collaborated with her husband on monumental collars, bracelets and headpieces that set the fashion world atwitter in the 1960s and ’70s. With no formal training — he dropped out of design school after mere months — Aldo evolved quickly as a designer, exploring sculpture and creating furniture, utensils and other home goods. 

Bakker secured commissions for legendary Danish silverware firm Georg Jensen and took to studying artists of all mediums. He found inspiration in the work of composer Luigi Nono, painter Giorgio Morani and architect-designer Carlo Scarpa. He has spent months or even years producing drawings and models in his studio, refining ideas for a particular shape before deciding what sort of object it should be. Then, he usually partners with a craftsperson capable of making it in a specified material, like silver, glass, ceramic, wood or lacquer.

In addition to the work he’s done for Georg Jensen, Bakker has created pieces for Austrian jewelry company Swarovski, Danish design brand Karakter, French silversmiths Puiforcat and more. He has commanded attention at the Looiersgracht 60 and has had solo exhibitions at Atelier Courbet in New York, the Libby Sellers Gallery in London and the Villa Noailles in France and the Vivid Gallery in Rotterdam, among others. 

Bakker’s work is held in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Centre Pompidou, the Rijksmuseum and other institutions.

On 1stDibs, find Aldo Bakker tables, case pieces and storage cabinets.