Design Miami/ 2021

At this years Design Miami, Moderne Gallery is excited to announce an important discovery of the first furniture design by George Nakashima, made in 1935-6.

Until now, there were only two known to exist, both in the permanent collections of Japanese museums.

Nakashima was employed by the architect Antonin Raymond and was involved in the design and furnishing of Saint Paul’s Church in Karuizawa, Japan. The architectural members of the church were peeled cryptomeria logs, a sacred Japanese wood, and the chairs were made from branches of the tree.

They were the earliest pieces designed by Nakashima, possibly in collaboration with Noemi Raymond, Antonin’s wife and partner.

The design is clearly the precursor to Nakashima’s Grass-Seated chair, first designed and made in 1944 for René d’Harnoncourt, just prior to his appointment as director of the Museum of Modern Art.