Aalto chair 68, birch - yellow

The Chair 68 manufactured by Artek was designed by Alvar Aalto in 1935. The chair 68 features Aalto’s signature L-leg structure, a round seat and a backrest with a slender, curved rail that differs from other Aalto chair designs. Chair 68 is also a space-saving piece as they can be stacked up to four chairs.

Alvar Aalto, together with carpenter Otto Korhonen, began experimenting with bending solid wood in the late 1920s. The collaboration resulted in an L-leg, which was an invention that took a step towards the mass production of Aalto’s furniture. Alvar Aalto patented the L-leg bending technique in 1933. L-leg became to be the standard component for Aalto’s furniture design and based on the invention also Y-leg and X-leg were later developed.

Alvar Aalto

Artek was founded in 1935 by four young idealists – Alvar and Aino Aalto, Nils-Gustav Hahl and Maire Gullichsen published a design manifesto inspired by functionalism, stating that Artek’s aim was “to sell furniture and to promote modern culture of habitation by exhibitions and other means”. Since its foundation, Artek has played in the intersection of design, architecture, and art, making Finnish design and Alvar Aalto's furniture known all over the world.