noguchi coffee table
Design Isamu Noguchi,
1948
Manchurian ash, solid wood, toughened glass
The Noguchi coffee table joins a curved, solid wood base with a freeform glass top. The ethereal result does not diminish the practical design: a sturdy and durable table. This balance of sculptural form and everyday function has made the Noguchi table an understated and beautiful element in homes and offices since its introduction in 1948.
Unwilling and unable to be pigeonholed, Noguchi created sculptures using any medium he could get his hands on: stone, metal, wood, clay, bone, paper, or a mixture of any or all--carving, casting, cutting, pounding, chiseling, or dynamiting away as each form took shape.
"To limit yourself to a particular style may make you an expert of that particular viewpoint or school, but I do not wish to belong to any school," he said. "I am always learning, always discovering."
Noguchi believed the sculptor's task was to shape space, to give it order and meaning, and that art should "disappear," or be as one with its surroundings.
His relationship with Herman Miller® came about when one of his designs was used to illustrate an article written by George Nelson called "How to Make a Table." It became his famous "coffee table," and it's as appealing today as it was then. For someone who was told by his first art teacher at age 15 that he'd "never be a sculptor," he left an amazing legacy.
To assure authenticity, the signature of Isamu Noguchi discreetly appears on the edge of the top and on a medallion on the underside of the base; under the medallion, his initials are stamped into the base.
1300 w | 930 d | 390 h
Isamu Noguchi (1904 –1988) was a prominent Japanese American artist and landscape architect whose career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public works, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and several mass-produced lamps and furniture pieces, some of which are still manufactured and sold. In 1947, Noguchi began a collaboration with the Herman Miller company, when he joined with George Nelson, Paul László, and Charles Eames to produce a catalog containing what is often considered to be the most influential body of modern furniture ever produced, including the iconic Noguchi table which remains in production today. His work lives on around the world and at the Noguchi Museum in New York City.
Herman Miller was a West Michigan businessman who helped his son-in-law, D.J. De Pree, buy the Michigan Star Furniture Company in 1923. De Pree had been working at the company, which opened in 1905, since he was hired in 1909 as a clerk. De Pree knew his father-in-law was a man of integrity, so he decided to rename the company after him. By the middle of the 20th century, the name Herman Miller had become synonymous with “modern” furniture. Working with legendary designers George Nelson and Charles and Ray Eames, the company produced pieces that would become classics of industrial design.
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