ART FAIR TOKYO 2024

The furniture of Alvar Aalto, who was originally from Finland, was first presented at an exhibition in Helsinki in 1932. It went on to be shown and sold at an exhibition held at Fortnum & Mason in London the following year. With this landmark “Wood Only” exhibition being very well received and Aalto’s furniture becoming extremely popular in the UK, Aalto founded ARTEK with fellow contemporaries in 1935. A new manufacturing plant was built in 1965, establishing a production line for furniture that was almost identical to current products.

SNORK – Modern and Contemporary handles Aalto products from before 1965 as original vintage products, many of which are also highly acclaimed as part of the design archive. The pieces on view are all from early production, and the designer’s creativity is said to be particularly well reflected in these early products.

The presentation is also inspired by the studio of Donald Judd, who had a keen interest in architecture and design, and was also an avid collector of Aalto’s furniture. It creates a space where long admired furniture pieces by Aalto meet works by the gallery’s artists who are pursuing novel forms of artistic expression. Judd is known to have considered the use of space to be just as important as the work itself. This year’s presentation will also include a rare lamp designed by Aino Aalto.