1985 "Hammer House" Postmodern Mixed-Media Sculpture by Shiro Kuramata

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Shiro Kuramata playfully stretched and skewed tropes of Western design, while combining them with traditional Japanese aesthetics, to produce items … Read more Shiro Kuramata playfully stretched and skewed tropes of Western design, while combining them with traditional Japanese aesthetics, to produce items of furniture that are surreal, humorous, and often poetic. Kuramata’s Miss Blanche chair (1988), a transparent resin chair flecked with synthetic roses, creates the appearance of a sitter floating on a cloud of blooms. In a design for two chests of drawers, Furniture in Irregular Forms (1970), the stark black-and-white lacquered finish is a nod to the severity of modern furniture, while the undulating shapes capture a more lighthearted attitude. The whimsical spirit of Kuramata’s designs is typical of postmodernism. Kuramata became closely associated with this style in 1981 when he joined Ettore Sottsass’s Memphis Group, an Italian collective that included designers such as Michele de Lucchi, Andrea Branzi, and Nathalie du Pasquier.

Signed with printed manufacturer's mark to packaging: [Hammer House Designed by Shiro Kuramata Group Time Studio].
Signed with decal manufacturer's label to handle: [K Collection]. Sold with original box.

Hammer House, 1985
Aluminum, lacquered wood
2 1/4 × 11 × 1 in
5.7 × 27.9 × 2.5 cm See less