Amoeba Nesting Tables

George Nakashima
Amoeba Nesting Tables, 1987

Dimensions:
21 × 29 × 21 in (W x D x H)
53.34 x 73.66 x 53.34 cm

About these George Nakashima Amoeba Nesting Tables

The Amoeba Nesting Tables were originally designed by George Nakashima in 1951. The trio of tables are designed to seamlessly fit within one another while allowing their free-edges to unite at the front. When needed, the tables can be moved apart and function as three separate tables, expertly combining form and function.

George Nakashima Amoeba Nesting Tables in American Walnut

George Nakashima carefully crafted each of these triplicate tables in American black walnut, a durable medium density wood common in furniture creation due in part to its stunning appearance, its workability for furniture creation, and its functionality for usable pieces.

The raw edges of this table highlight Nakashima’s enduring vision to ensure that the natural properties of each wood piece are highlighted, not disguised, when utilizing his carefully chosen woodcuts. The free edges of these table tops come together as one when the Amoeba Nesting Tables are stacked, and provide a unique yet uniform look when pulled apart.

George Nakashima in the 1970s

This piece was created in the mid-1970s. At the top of the decade, Mira Nakashima had recently returned from her studies in Japan at Waseda University. Two years after the creation of this table, Kevin Nakashima was appointed officer of George Nakashima Woodworker, S.A., working with both Marion and George Nakashima. The New Hope homestead and studio served as both inspiration and a haven for the creativity and collaboration of the Nakashima family and their woodworkers.

George Nakashima – Form and Function

George Nakashima’s pieces masterfully blend form and function to create usable, yet beautiful furniture with unique facets such as these raw edges and shimmering woodgrain. His vision to preserve the uniqueness of each piece of wood he utilized shines through in this set of stacking tables, which are as visually stunning as they are useful.

Designed and created by George Nakashima in 1987.

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.