BARBARA KRUGER (B.1945)
Untitled (Kiss) Stool 60
hand-number '19' in black ink on the bottom of the chair on the decal '‘Barbara Kruger 19 Design Alvar Aalto Artek Made in Finland 2020 Artek OY AB Made in Finland 10/2020’
enameled wood
17 inches × 15 inches x 15 inches (43 cm × 38 cm x 38cm)
Executed in 2019. This work is number 19 from an edition of 600.

Accompanied by original 'One chair is enough' box, certificate of authenticity, Artek/ICA informational booklet, and assembly instructions.

Notes:
A bold intervention on Alvar Aalto’s iconic Stool 60, Barbara Kruger’s Untitled (Kiss) translates her unmistakable graphic language into a functional object. The stool retains Aalto’s instantly recognizable silhouette—circular top with bentwood legs—here finished with enameled red legs and a stark black “KISS” across the white seat.

The project was launched in 2019 through a collaboration between the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) Boston and Finnish design house Artek, extending Kruger’s career-long exploration of language, power, and consumer culture into the sphere of modernist furniture. Produced in an edition of 600, each stool was hand-numbered and packaged in a custom box reading “One chair is enough,” with documentation and assembly instructions.

Barbara Kruger (b. 1945) is one of the most influential American conceptual artists of her generation. Known for her bold text-and-image works that address issues of identity, politics, consumerism, and power, Kruger rose to prominence in the 1980s with her stark collages of black-and-white photographs overlaid with declarative phrases. Her work has been exhibited worldwide, from the Museum of Modern Art to the Venice Biennale, and continues to resonate in both art and popular culture.

Alvar Aalto (1898–1976) was a pioneering Finnish architect and designer whose work bridged modernism with a deep respect for organic form and human experience. Celebrated for his fluid approach to architecture and furniture, Aalto rejected the rigid geometries of early modernism in favor of natural materials, curved lines, and functional elegance.

17 3/8 inches x 15 inches x 13 3/4 inches

44 cm x 38 cm x 34 cm