Barbara Kruger Adds a Double Entendre to Alvar Aalto's Stool 60
The first of many special edition Stool 60 designs to come.
Finnish furniture brand Artek and London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) have joined forces to produce a special edition of Alvar Aalto’s iconic Stool 60 designed by artist Barbara Kruger. Called Untitled (Kiss), the graphic stool is emblazoned with bold type that reads “KISS” on the seat as well as a combination of black, white and red coloring identical to the majority of Kruger’s iconic pieces. The conceptual artist’s blunt double entendre hinting at “kiss-my-ass” combined with Aalto’s classic piece of furniture design results in a statement piece that addresses modern gender, identity and power.
This collaboration acts as a nostalgic transport to the beginning of Kruger’s career, as ICA London was the first institution to offer the artist a solo show back in 1983. “The memory of that exhibition, the wonderful space, the excitement and buzz of the ICA’s program of visuality and intellectually rigorous public programming, its bookstore and crazily cool cafe, will never fade in my mind.”
Untitled (Kiss) has been produced in a limited run of 300 editions. Each edition is hand-numbered, authenticated and finished with Artek’s classic minimal cardboard packaging. The bespoke stool will launch at Frieze London beginning October 3 and will be available for purchase from the ICA beginning on October 10. This special edition stool marks the starting point of a larger collaboration between the ICA and Artek, as the two plan to launch a series of Stool 60 artist editions in the future.
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