Aldo Bakker, born in the Netherlands in 1971, is a designer whose objects challenge the way we perceive and interact with the material world. Known for his bowls, pitchers, stools, spoons, and tables, Bakker creates works that blur the boundary between utility and autonomy. His practice is defined by an exquisite command of form, colour, and material, combined with an almost unsettling insistence that objects are not passive commodities but independent presences with their own integrity and character.
Despite their calm appearance and often monochrome surfaces, Bakker’s objects resist submission. They dictate the terms of engagement, asking those who encounter them to confront their inherent independence. Seductive yet elusive, these ‘objects fatales’ appear at first glance to be beautiful and desirable, but ultimately unsettle fixed notions of functionality, beauty, and commodity.
An autodidact who rejected formal artistic training, Bakker instead immersed himself in the work of singular figures such as composer Luigi Nono, painter Giorgio Morandi, writer J.M. Coetzee, and architect Carlo Scarpa. Like them, he shares a deep commitment to the language of his chosen medium. The introverted nature of his designs, their refined curves and planes, the depth of their surfaces, and their meticulous execution give the impression that these artefacts speak in their own voice. When they leave the studio—often after years of careful refinement—they no longer reflect their maker but assert their own existence, raising questions about the very essence of being.
By presenting his works as individual characters, Bakker invites us to shift our perspective. We do not approach them as mere objects to be classified, purchased, or consumed. Instead, they invite conversation—about behaviour, uncertainty, conviction, and language. In this encounter, we are no longer simply observers but fellow travellers, engaging with Bakker’s creations as they challenge us, and perhaps reveal something of ourselves in the process.
Many of Aldo Bakker’s works are unique pieces. Several are produced in small editions. Next to his independent studio production Bakker has also created commissioned works for companies like Georg Jensen, Karakter, Puiforcat, Sèvres and Swarovski. His work has been acquired by museums like Boijmans Van Beuningen (Rotterdam), MoMa (NY), Cooper Hewitt (NY), mudac (Lausanne), Philadelphia Museum of Art, Centre Pompidou (Paris), Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and Victoria & Albert Museum (London). In 2016 and 2017 a major overview of his work was presented in the exhibition Pause (CID Grand Hornu, mudac Lausanne). Other solo exhibitions were staged at Atelier Courbet (NY), Gallery Libby Sellars (London), Looiersgracht 60 (Amsterdam), Villa Noailles in Hyeres and Vivid Gallery (Rotterdam).
In 2016 Alice Rawsthorn and Hans den Hartog Jager edited the monograph Aldo Bakker (NAI 010 Publishers NL). Aldo Bakker received the Wallpaper Award 2011, First Prize at DDA 2009 and First Prize at Bornholm Glass (2008).
