Coffee Table | Freeform Sofa

Coffee Table | Freeform Sofa
Rocking Stool | Prismatic Table
Noguchi Collection
The work of the Japanese-American artist and designer
Isamu Noguchi is extraordinarily multi-faceted. In
addition to sculptures, he also created stage sets,
furniture, lighting, interiors, public spaces and gardens.
As a sculptor, he was not only interested in materials
and forms, but also in the spatial effect of objects and
even in the design of space itself. It was his intention
to create artworks with practical and social relevance.
Noguchi's work left a lasting mark on 1950s design.
Since 2002, the Vitra Design Museum has produced reeditions of Noguchi's designs in co-operation with the
Isamu Noguchi Foundation, New York. Several of these
models are represented in the Collection of the Vitra
Design Museum.
Coffee Table
Noguchi designed the first version of this table, with a glass top resting
on interconnected rosewood supports, for the private residence of MoMA
president A. Conger Goodyear during the 1930s. In a modified design
from 1944, which reflected his preoccupation with sculptural, biomorphic
structures, Noguchi transformed the original idea into a base consisting
of two identical wooden elements, one of which is reversed and pinned
to the other at a right angle. The Coffee Table has been produced for the
US market by Herman Miller since 1947; the Vitra Design Museum began
production for the European market in 2002. It is regarded today as one
of Noguchi’s best-known designs.
Freeform Sofa
Noguchi’s sculptural idiom gains full expression in this sofa, which clearly
distinguishes itself from other designs of the same period. The sofa and
ottoman seem almost like a greatly enlarged sculpture of flat, rounded
river stones; yet at the same time, their slender organic forms are graceful
and vigorous. Noguchi emphasised this effect with thin, but extremely
comfortable upholstery padding and a choice of cover fabrics in natural
colours.
The Freeform Sofa and companion Ottoman were produced around 1950
in limited number. Today, the few remaining pieces achieve record prices
at auction. Since 2002, the group has been produced by the Vitra Design
Museum as a fully authentic re-edition. The sofa is suitable not only for
use in the living room, but also in lobbies, hotels and retail shops.
Rocking Stool
During his entire lifetime, Noguchi alternated between
East and West. After returning from Japan in 1954, he
presented the design for a Rocking Stool to US furniture
manufacturer Hans Knoll. Its form evokes the hourglass
shape of African stools. Although Noguchi originally
wanted to make the stool out of polyurethane, a new
plastic, he ultimately decided on a combination of more
traditional materials: wood for the seat and foot, and
chrome-plated steel rods for the central support.
Prismatic Table
The small Prismatic Table was Noguchi's first furniture
design intended for serial production. Made of bent aluminium sheeting, it was created for Alcoa (Aluminum
Company of America), who wanted to demonstrate
new applications of its primary product. Noguchi’s own
motivation for this design can be traced to his previous
experimentation with sheet metal (particularly brass
sheeting), which began during his work with Brancusi
in Paris.
All measurements in millimetres and inches
Coffee Table
Vitra Design Museum re-edition. Frame of solid black
ash, walnut or maple. Table top 19 mm glass.
3000 118”
930 36 1/2 ”
Freeform Sofa
375 14 3/4”
400 15 3/4”
Rocking Stool
Re-edition Vitra Design Museum. Stool in two sizes.
Slightly rounded seat and base elements made of
maple, natural colour or walnut stain. Connecting
element with diagonal struts made of chrome-plated
steel rod.
1200 47 1/4”
720 281/4”
Prismatic Table
Re-edition Vitra Design Museum. Aluminium corpus,
powder-coated finish in black or white.
710 28”
1300 511/4”
Freeform Sofa and Ottoman
Re-edition Vitra Design Museum. Solid wood frame,
upholstered. Removable cover in Soft fabric. Legs made
of maple, natural finish or walnut stain, depending on
colour of upholstery fabric.
340 131/2 ”
Programme features
410 161/4”
1280 50 1/2 ”
Soft Freeform Sofa & Ottoman
Coffee Table
Coffee Table
Ø 360 Ø14 1/4”
250 9 3/4”
425 16 3/4”
Ø 360 Ø14 1/4”
Prismatic Table
Rocking Stool
Prismatic Table
Rocking Stool
Deviations in colour are
possible due to the printing
process.
Noguchi Collection
1944
Coffee Table
1944
Cylinder Lamp
1946
Freeform Sofa
1954
Rocking Stool
1954/1955
Dining Table
1957
Prismatic Table
Vitra International AG, Birsfelden, CH | Vitra Ges.m.b.H., Wien, A | NV Vitra Belgium SA, Diegem, B | Vitra AG, Birsfelden, Showroom: Zürich, CH | Vitra koncept, s.r.o., Praha, CZ | Vitra GmbH, Weil am Rhein, D | Vitra Hispania S.A., Madrid, Showroom:
Barcelona, E, Lisboa, P | Vitra, Paris, F | Vitra Ltd., London, GB | Vitra International AG, Budapest, HU | Vitra (Nederland) B.V., Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, NL | Vitra Scandinavia AS, Oslo, N | Vitra International AG, Warszawa, PL | Vitra Furniture Pte. Ltd.,
Singapore | Vitra Inc., New York, San Francisco, USA | email: [email protected] | www.vitra.com
2006, Art.-Nr. 097 312 20
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