Japanese-American woodworker, furniture maker, architect and designer George Katsutoshi Nakashima was one of the leading innovators of 20th century furniture design, and father of the American artisan movement.
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Who was George Katsutoshi Nakashima?
George Katsutoshi Nakashima was born in1905inWashington, to Katsuharu and Suzu Nakashima. In1929, he obtained a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Washington and two years later, he earned a Master’s degree inarchitecturefromMIT.Immediately after, Nakashima sold his car and bought a ticket for the world’s steamboat. In1937, he created his first furniture set after veing commissioned to build a dormitory in anashram, inIndia.Three years later, Nakashima decided to return to the USA, where he continued to make furniture and teach woodworking before, during World War II, being sent toIdaho, where he met Gentaro Hikogawa, from whom Nakashima learned thecarpentry techniquesand the use ofJapanese instruments.
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Over the past decade, his furniture has become ultra-collectible and his legacy has cemented into what has become known as aninfluential “free-edge” aesthetic.Nakashima’s work achieves awarmth,graceandpuritythat make it so universally appealing and appropriate, and with the same flourish of movement of aPicasso,becoming regarded as the maker ofanaesthetic bridgebetweenEastandWest.George died in1990, but the workshop is still going strong today under the direction of his daughter,Mira, who recounts her dad’s life and work, often with colorful photos of the furniture.
What were his most noteworthy works?
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Among his projects,theConoid chairis perhaps the most iconic of all the models created by Nakashima. The term “conoid” refers to thecone-shaped roof structuresdesigned by George for his architectural work. Those produced in the Nakashima workshop, today, are slightly different from the first version that George built in 1971. Thedesignof the product is准确的in every detail and reveals the search forminimalist elegancethroughcareful study; the structure is characterized by the presence of two legs that extend from the feet in theform of a sled, which serve as uprights that support a cantilevered seat and a ridge bar with cantilevered ends. Usually, these main parts are made ofblack walnut, while the spindles are made ofhickory,shavedandfacetedby handwith a blocking plane.
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On the other hand, theStraight Chairis George Nakashima’smodern interpretationof the traditionalWindsor chair.The Japanese-American woodworker was able to challenge the typical categorization, by mixingorientalandwestern aesthetics,traditionalandmodern vocabularies.At the beginning of1940s,HansandFlorence Knollmet Nakashima and they remained very surprised and impressed by the simple elegance of his aesthetic. Therefore, they decided to add a chair and three tables of George’s design to theKnoll猫alog. The first orders were made in Nakashima’s studio, before production was transferred to East Greenville and the line was discontinued in 1955 when Nakashima opted to produce and market all of its projects. With itssimplistic formandmaterials, the Straight chair does not strive to be something that is not. It is characterized bylow-gloss finishesthat amplify the grain motifs and it shows Nakashima’s deference to thenatural beauty of woodand itslegendary craftsmanship.
What are the main characteristics of Nakashima’s style?
Image source:https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/conoid-bench-32461
Today, the name Nakashima is synonymous with huge tables with natural edges; structure with visible dovetails; a lot of solid wood; and wooden keys. George Nakashima is one of the most recognized and famous artisans of the twentieth century, known above all for hishandmade furnitureand for thesensitivity to the material’s needs.During his life, he explored theorganic expressiveness of wood.受日本文化nd modern American style, he created a series of works that best represent the 20th century American art furniture. His design was distinguished by its woodworking and was mainly made up of large tables consisting of several slabs of wood connected with butterfly joint. These plates were characterized bysmooth surfacesbutnatural and unfinished edges.Perhaps his greatest contribution to art is hisoriginality.He specialized in beautiful tables, lovingly crafted from large pieces of wood in their natural state and following the wood grain, whenever possible. Hisbenches,chairsandlampsare also highly coveted by collectors and decorators. Nakashima shares the list of most sought out furniture designers with Carlo Mollino, Jean Prouvé and Marc Newson, according to the experts.
Furniture should be lived with and not treated as something overly precious.
George Nakashima
Image source:https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/minguren-ii-coffee-table-79359
Info sources:
http://content.lib.washington.edu/exhibits/dream-design-build/nakashima.html
https://www.woodcraft.com/blog_entries/famous-furniture-the-conoid-chair
https://grshop.com/george-nakashima-straight-chair.html
https://www.azureazure.com/homes/the-wonderful-woodwork-of-george-nakashima02