George Nakashima
Minguren II Dining Table, 1985
Material: Highly figured American black walnut, 2 board book-matched top with 3 rosewood butterflies.
Documentation: Sold with a digital copy of the drawing, a letter from Nakashima, and receipt.
The Minguren series was created to commemorate a number of shows in Japan first produced by an association of trusted designer-craftspeople in Japan. Minguren, or “People‘s Tool Guild,” was the brainchild of Japanese sculptor Masayuki Nagare, who sought out American and European designers willing to allow his group to manufacture their designs. George Nakashima would prove to be integral to this mission– it is said that after some hesitance on the part of the sculptor, he agreed to visit Nakashima in New Hope, where “Nagare and his team of masons—all neatly dressed in bright blue blazers—duly arrived, to be greeted with a barbecued steak dinner.” (Mira Nakashima, Nature Form & Spirit)
The series honors what would become a fruitful relationship between Nagare and Nakashima, who “joined the Minguren group in Shikoku, Japan, which led to the creation of ten one-man furniture shows in Tokyo and a lifelong relationship with Sakura Seisakusho, the only company in the world licensed to create Nakashima designs.” (CraftNowPhila)
George Nakashima was born in Spokane, Washington in 1905 to Japanese parents who had immigrated to the United States. Educated and trained as an architect at the University of Washington, Nakashima received his Master’s degree in Architecture from M.I.T. in 1930. After working briefly as an architect in the United States he left for Paris seeking the creative energies of one of the great urban centers of the day. From there he traveled extensively, ending up at the home of his grandmother, living on a farm on the outskirts of Tokyo.
| Dimensions | 72 × 45 × 28.5 in |
|---|---|
| Artist | |
| Date | 1985 |
| Material | American black walnut, Rosewood |
| Style |
