Aino Aalto

Background

Aino Aalto (born Aino Mandelin; 25 January 1894 – 13 January 1949), known professionally as Aino Marsio-Aalto, was a Finnish architect and designer. She qualified as an architect in Helsinki in 1920, joined Alvar Aalto's office in 1924 and married him; Artek says six months later, Wikipedia gives 1925 in her article and 6 October 1924 in his. In 1935 the Aaltos founded Artek with Maire Gullichsen and Nils-Gustav Hahl, and Aino became its first artistic director and later its Design Director and Managing Director.

Signature Style

Artek says she laid the foundation for its aesthetics, which combined the modernist idea of clear form with simple surface ornamentation. She is best known for glass and interior design, and then as a furniture designer, and she also designed ceramics, lighting and printed fabrics.

Notable Works

Side Table 606 (1932), the Riihitie Plant Pots (1937) and Pendant Light AMA500 (1941) are the four products by her in Artek's catalogue. She completed the interior of the Viipuri Library (1936), worked with Alvar on the Savoy Vase and designed pressed glass that won a prize at the 1936 Milan Triennial.

Legacy

Her work is in the collection of MoMA in New York, which has included it in nine exhibitions, and the Alvar Aalto Museum in Jyväskylä devoted a solo exhibition and a book to her in 2004. Artek says her design legacy lives on in the company and in her much copied glassware.