Alvar Aalto Minimalistic Double Shelf Model 112-2 in Birch, Artek 1950s

This is an iconic minimalist shelf by Alvar Aalto in double deck. Due to the back rail, the shelf is easier to hang with four screws instead of eight.
The shelf unit is from the 1940s and is made with finger joints. A beautiful patina has been acquired that came alive with the slight surface retouching. The shelf has the early Artek stamp.

Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) is a world famous architect and designer. He was well known for designing his own line of furniture and lighting for the numerous buildings that he designed worldwide. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles, glassware, sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, seeing painting and sculpture as branches of a tree that stem from architecture.

Aalto’s career from the 1920s-1970s is reflected in the styles of his work, ranging from Classicism to Modernism and to an organic style from the 1940s onwards. Aalto and his wife Aino were famous for not only designing the buildings, but the interior surfaces, furniture, lamps and even the glassware for those buildings. Aalto’s furniture designs are Scandinavian Modernism at its best, especially his technical innovations on the bent plywood furniture, which in turn had a great impact on Mid-Century Modernist furniture.

Aalto’s works are highly sought after and some fetch record prices in auctions and the design world. Of course his works are also widely collected and can be found in numerous private collections and famous museums.