Aalto together with Alfred William Finch aided Eero Järnefelt paint the large landscape Koli at the Helsinki Central Station in 1911.

Järnefelt and Finch were more involved in the design, but of the three artists only Aalto dared to climb the tall ladder.

The first exhibition by cubists and expressionists was held in Finland in 1914, featuring key artists such as from the group Der Blaue Reiter.

[3] After the 1920 trip to Paris, Aalto began to use more colors and strong brush strokes instead of the previously greyish palette.

Later, while visiting Paris in 1928 he adopted a more realistic expression, clear contours and unmixed colors.