“I like transient, momentary things…I like the tension of something that will only happen once, that will soon disappear”.
—Shiro KuramataParadoxically immortalising a fleeting moment in time through the illusionary defiance of gravity, Shiro Kuramata's Unique monumental floor lamp showcases a rare and incremental application of the fabrication technique to encapsulate florals in acrylic, which the designer had perfected just the year prior in his renowned Miss Blanche chairs. As in the chairs, the imaginative construction of cast acrylic with objects inside exemplifies the designer's creative ability to dynamically combine light and form in curious ways within his pieces.
The brilliance behind the method to enrobe florals in acrylic lies in its contradictory nature: the sense of natural effortlessness evoked by the piece conceals the extensive effort to physically produce the effect. Deyan Sudjic summarises the laborious process in the catalogue raisonné for the designer: 'working by trial and error, the team hit on a method of pouring acrylic to half the depth of the mould, putting in the flowers, waiting eight hours for the acrylic to go hard, then pouring in the rest to the top of the mould, and waiting another eight hours. In the early stages, the roses needed to be held in position with tweezers until the resin hardened sufficiently to ensure that they did not sink to the bottom of the mould. Allegedly, the procedure was interrupted at regular intervals by Kuramata telephoning the workshop to check on progress'. The anecdote provides insight into the designer’s keen awareness and ability to control new materials for unprecedented applications, as well as his devout commitment to the entire fabrication process.
While the employment of artificial florals and playful colours may initially obscure the lofty and sophisticated philosophical notions conveyed in this piece, two overarching aspirations central to Kuramata's oeuvre are achieved by the whimsical roses suspended within the columnar acrylic forms: the desire to eliminate gravity, and the aim to perpetually preserve a chance moment in time. His pursuit to convey intellectual concepts through inventive formal expressions of newly developed materials provided inspiration for a generation of Japanese designers that followed.
This visually light and effervescent lamp was part of Kuramata's designed interior for the Oblomov restaurant and vodka bar within the Il Palazzo hotel in Fukuoka, Japan. The accompanying image shows the present floor lamp in situ in the venue: as confirmed by the Kuramata Design Office, five identical pieces topped with four arms each, and two unique lamps placed at either end, one with two arms and the present lot with three arms, punctuated the length of the room in a linear format. Oblomov, like many of the hundreds of bars, clubs, and restaurants Kuramata designed throughout his career, featured rhythmically repetitive, minimalistic forms made from industrial materials such as aluminium, acrylics, glass or steel mesh presented in sleek and sumptuous, modern finishes that highlight his artistry through innovative fabrication. The vodka bar, with its chipboard walls and gold leaf trim, created a dialogue using the strong contrast between the ordinary and the opulent. The lamp’s unexpectedly colourful anodisation and meticulously suspended artificial florals inspires thematic discourse on the subjectivity of luxury via the transformative act of artistic intervention upon industrial materials.
As a founding member of the Memphis Group of postmodern designers, the influence of Shiro Kuramata's participation in the style is still apparent in his work after the formal movement ended through continued use of commercial, industrial materials and bright colours. Unexpected, yet delightful alchemical fabrications using contemporary industrial materials made readily available by the concurrent rapid economic growth in Japan demonstrate why Ettore Sottsass Jr., his collaborator and friend, expressed an inability to dichotomise Kuramata’s work as singularly 'art' or 'design'.
Provenance
Private collection, Milan
Literature
Shiro Kuramata 1934-1991, exh. cat., Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, 1996, p. 191, fig. 8 Yasuko Seki, ed., Shiro Kuramata and Ettore Sottsass, exh. cat., 21_21 Design Sight, Tokyo, 2001, p. 72 Deyan Sudjic, Shiro Kuramata: Essays & Writings, London, 2013, p. 16 Deyan Sudjic, Shiro Kuramata: Catalogue of Works, London, 2013, p. 372
Catalogue Essay
Phillips wishes to thank the Kuramata Design Office for their assistance in cataloguing the present lot.
Shiro Kuramata is widely admired for his ability to free his designs from gravity and use materials in ways that defied convention. After a restless childhood, his ideas of being an illustrator having been discouraged, Kuramata discovered design during his time at the Teikoku Kizai Furniture Factory in Arakawa-ku in 1954. The next year he started formal training at the Department of Interior Design at the Kuwasawa Design Institute. His early work centered on commercial interiors and window displays. In 1965, at the age of 31, he opened his own firm: Kuramata Design Office.
Throughout his career he found inspiration in many places, including the work of Italian designers (particularly those embodying the Memphis style) and American conceptual artists like Donald Judd, and combined such inspirations with his own ingenuity and creativity. His dynamic use of materials, particularly those that were transparent, combination of surfaces and awareness of the potential of light in design led him to create objects that stretched structural boundaries and were also visually captivating. These qualities are embodied in his famous Glass Chair (1976).