Shiro Kuramata (1934-1991)

Furniture in Irregular Forms Side 1 and Side 2

Details

Shiro Kuramata (1934-1991)
Furniture in Irregular Forms Side 1 and Side 2
two cherrywood cabinets with metal knobs on wheels
Side 1: 68 x 17¾ x 23½ in. (172.7 x 45 x 59.7cm.)
Side 2: 68 x 23½ x 17¾ in. (172.7 x 59.7 x 45cm.)
Executed in 1970.

Provenance

Galerie Mourmans, Maastricht

Literature

U. Abendroth, K. Beate Phillips, C. Pixis, B. Polster and V. Steinbeck, World Design: The Best in Classic and Contemporary Furniture, Fashion, Graphics and More, Bonn 1999, p. 192 (illustrated)

Exhibited

Tokyo, Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Shiro Kuramata 1934-1991, June-September 1996, (another example of Side 2 illustrated in exhibition brochure)
New York University, Grey Art Gallery and Study Center, Shiro Kuramata 1934-1991, February-May 1998 (another example of Side 2 illustrated on cover of exhibition brochure)

Sale room notice

Please note the correct estimate for this work is $30,000-40,000.

Lot Essay

"With this piece, perhaps his [Kuramata's] best known and certainly the most copied, Kuramata redefines a conventional chest of drawers. Why, he asks, should we assume that drawers must always be rectangular? Using undulating curves, he takes one of the most solid of furniture types and endows it with life. Breaking out of an unexpected and usually rigid geometry, Furniture in Irregular Form Side 2 seems to dance; with coasters instead of feet, it both suggest and literally incorporates movement and versatility" (A. Isozaki, E. Sottsass, T. Yokoyama, F. Burkhardt and A. Branzi, Shiro Kuramata, Tokyo 1996, quote from exhibition brochure)

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