ALUSTRETCH®™ is a maker of premium quality aluminium stretcher bars and canvases for artists, galleries and museums. The stretcher bars are made to suit the needs of professional artists and have a finely honed and easy-to-use design.

They are made to order at any size and are available either in kit form, made up, or stretched with a wide variety of surfaces and preparations. They are easy to assemble/disassemble, are lightweight and will never warp or twist, even in the most trying conditions. 

For thirty years in Vienna and fifteen in London, Alustretch has consistently worked with the worlds top artists, galleries, museums and institutions.

Designed and made within the EU using predominantly recycled aluminium and sustainably sourced poplar plywoods, we aim to minimise our impact on the environment.

Alustretch UK is artist owned and operated.

Please click below for example images:

ALUSTRETCH®™ stretcher bars are designed to provide a stable painting substrate in all conditions and with all types of canvas. The stretchers have a poplar plywood inlay for easy fastening and a simple and highly effective tension system for tensioning canvas. 

Built around a T6 aluminium profile with an optimised wall thickness, the stretchers provide the necessary strength, rigidity and stiffness to hold canvas tension for far longer than with conventional stretchers. They will never warp, even when stored for many years, and will always hang straight and flat against the wall. This is particularly useful when working with raw linen and also gives the opportunity to work with very large sizes, where a traditional wooden stretcher would struggle to cope. At the heart of the design is the tension system, made from die-cast zinc parts and held in place with small steel grub screws. Die-cast zinc parts are used for accuracy of manufacture, strength and reliability. 

PROFILES
We offer two standard profiles (depths) for your stretchers.
H27 has a depth of 27mm (1.244”).
H40 has a depth of 40mm (1.574”).
Custom depths (H27 variable or H40 variable) can be accomodated through the addition of shaped poplar plywood.

Please let us know if you have specific requirements. We have a fully equipped workshop and a team of skilled technicians who are more than happy to meet individual demands. 

 Please click the image below for technical data:

We use high quality linens, cotton duck and polyesters that are hand stretched with an attention to detail. They can be primed or left bare. We can use pre-primed material or prime by hand. When hand priming, we use only the highest quality primers & gesso’s from Lascaux. We can prepare a wide variety of specialist surfaces depending on the artist's needs and requirements, from sizing, priming, plain and tinted gesso finishes, to the traditional application of rabbit skin glue. 

ARTWORK STRETCH/RESTRETCH
With over thirty years of experience in handling high value artworks and a team made up of experienced art handlers, we can make stretchers for stretching or restretching artworks, either at our workshop or on site. This is often necessary for artists who paint onto canvas on the floor or pinned to a wall, or for old paintings that require a new stretcher. 

PROJECTION SCREENS
Our stretchers work extremely well as projection screens when stretched with projection fabric. They are lightweight and will remain perfectly flat and straight. We can prepare these on site for large gallery installations.  

Please click the image below for further examples:

ALUSTRETCH®™ stretcher bars are a lightweight, stable and versatile alternative for sliding doors and room dividers, creating a moveable surface for woven or printed artwork or a simple solution to hide the clutter of everyday living. Usable in both domestic and professional settings, and marrying seamlessly with most available sliding door rail systems, our system will widen the design possibilities for both architects and designers alike.

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For thirty years in Vienna and fifteen in London, Alustretch has consistently worked with the worlds top artists, galleries, museums and institutions. Recent projects of note include the Steve McQueen retrospective at the Tate Modern, Peter Doig at the Vienna Secession and Frank Bowling at Tate Britain.

Please click on the image below to see a selection of images from projects we have been involved in:

For more information, to request a quote or to make an order, please contact us directly by email/phone or by using the form. Please note you can also contact us via WhatsApp on 0043 6601363973