December 22-23, 2012

Aldo Bakker Studio, Amsterdam

Aldo Bakker (NL, 1971) learned the craft of goldsmith from the trainees working for his father, Gijs Bakker, to later get his skills to perfection at Willem Noyons in Utrecht. For twelve years, the manufacturing of jewelry, silver bowls and spoons were his core business.
The skills that he learned then of patience and perfection are still visible in the designs he makes today and form the driving principle throughout his work. His love for traditional techniques such as ‘Urushi’, a Japanese painting technique, underline his way of working and thinking.
The unique, functional objects that Aldo Bakker creates call for a certain slowing of motion and require the viewer’s or user’s full attention and presence. They cannot be read in just a single glance. Layer by layer, the function of the object is revealed and the choices regarding form and material become clear, reflecting a perfect symbiosis between the different elements. This process makes the objects autonomous and unique.
Aldo Bakker has exhibited his work around the world (Sfera in Kyoto, Design Miami/Basel, Flow Gallery in London, Salone Di Mobile in Milan) and his pieces have been bought by many different museums (V&A in London, Design Museum Gent, SM’S in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Silver Museum in Schoonhoven, …).
He has won numerous awards including the Dutch Design Award for his porcelain work and a Wallpaper Award for the Copper Collection and Urushi Stool.
Aldo Bakker teaches at the Design Academy in Eindhoven.