Dialogue: minä perhonen & Esa Vesmanen with Alvar Aalto

This exhibition presented an ongoing, cross-cultural design collaboration between Finnish interior architect and designer Esa Vesmanen and the Japanese brand minä perhonen. Within the interior of Maison Louis Carré, Vesmanen and Akira Minagawa—artist, designer, and founder of minä perhonen—integrated the influence of Alvar Aalto into their shared creative dialogue. Minagawa, inspired by Nordic design culture, shares with Esa Vesmanen a deep interest in tactile materials and craft-based techniques. Their design discussions inspired a special edition of Vesmanen’s Finom lighting line, which explores the possibilities of paper-thin plywood, continuing Aalto’s legacy of experimenting with wood’s formal potential.

In tribute to Maison Louis Carré, the duo transformed the space: minä perhonen showcased a wide range of designs, including tableware, home textiles, women’s fashion, and rugs created specifically for the villa, as well as artworks by Minagawa printed in Paris. In addition to lights, Vesmanen displayed a modular shelving system, a plywood chaise longue, and an experimental kitchen—products that embody the Finnish designer’s modernist principles and material experimentation. Inspired by Aalto’s spirit, Vesmanen also created four sculptural pieces that reimagine Aalto’s iconic 60 stools with wild, organic forms sewn from remnant fabrics from the minä perhonen collection.