September 20 – November 2, 2013
New, custom-made furniture from Nakashima Woodworkers will be featured at Moderne Gallery in Philadelphia this fall, continuing the gallery’s long history of presenting the iconic works of the legendary George Nakashima, the Keisho line of his daughter Mira Nakashima, and now the studio craft furniture emerging from a new generation of woodworkers from the famed Nakashima studio in New Hope, PA.
Nakashima Woodworkers: An Evolving Legacy will display approximately 25 pieces of original furniture from the Nakashima Woodworkers’ group from September 20 – November 2, 2013 at Moderne Gallery located in the Old City section of Philadelphia.
Mira Nakashima, daughter of renowned 20th Century furniture designer George Nakashima (1905-1990), has collaborated with her team of 10 skilled craftspeople to create a new body of work that reflects the heritage of her father’s custom of handcrafted furniture making. The exhibition aims to build upon the traditional Nakashima approach of meticulous design, craftsmanship, and beautiful wood while introducing the next generation of Nakashima Woodworkers.
Finding inspiration in the subtle harmonies of both nature and music – and continuing the evolution of fresh design solutions—the team has transformed a selection of custom-milled, carefully harvested hardwood into both timeless and functional works of studio craft furniture.
With reference to drawings produced by George Nakashima in the late 1950s, pieces featured in Nakashima Woodworkers: An Evolving Legacy include, among others, The Chigaidana, an asymmetrically organized interpretation of a free-floating Japanese shelving system made for traditional Japanese tea rooms, as well as The Dropleaf Table, adapted to illustrate the harmonic ratio 3:4 conceived by Mira’s assistant Miriam Carpenter.
New designs include The Reflection Coffee Table made in 2012 for the Esherick Museum “Poplar Culture” show, as well as a pair of Cantilevered Nightstands originally designed to be taller standing desks, and crowned by book-matched historic cherry-wood boards. The Carpenter Coffee Table—inspired by a Claro Walnut burl and conceived by Miriam Carpenter—is based upon the harmonic principal that any given note is exactly half the vibration length of the octave below. (The piece also references George Nakashima’s Kevin and Weatherbee table structures). The Sunset Dining Table has been scaled down from its original length of 18-feet to 10-feet, and is fashioned from three Fiddleback-figured English Sycamore planks purchased by Mira In Toronto some years ago.
Following her father’s death in 1990, Mira Nakashima continued to produce the classic Nakashima lines, but also explored new designs and techniques through her own Keisho line, which is Japanese for “continuation.” The first show of her Keisho works was presented by Moderne Gallery in 1998.
“It is very natural that we should present our next step forward at Moderne Gallery,” says Mira Nakashima. “Moderne Gallery has featured my father’s work, and also supported my own developing work for more than 25 years.”
Nakashima Woodworkers: An Evolving Legacy will be the first show at Moderne Gallery that presents entirely new works by both Mira Nakashima and the Nakashima Woodworkers. The exhibition is Mira Nakashima’s third show at Moderne Gallery. Earlier shows include The Nakashima Tradition: Origins and Continuity (debuting the Keisho line) in 1998 and A Celebration of the Nakashima Legacy in 2003. The opening of this exhibit provided the national launch for Mira Nakashima’s book Nature, Form and Spirit (Abrams).
Often called the world’s leading Nakashima dealer, Moderne Gallery owner / director Robert Aibel has been a major collector, exhibitor, and seller of Nakashima studio craft furniture since the gallery’s inception in 1984. His ongoing role as lecturer, consultant and appraiser has earned him an international reputation as a prime source of knowledge on Nakashima design and market value.
“We are honored to be showcasing Nakashima Woodworkers: An Evolving Legacy at Moderne this fall,” says Aibel. “After presenting the first gallery show of the works of George Nakashima in 1989, and four other major Nakashima exhibits, in addition to those with Mira, we are thrilled to be able to present the next generation of the Nakashima tradition.”
