Shiro Kuramata (1934–1991) was a furniture and product designer born in Tokyo, Japan. He became a design icon, being one of the figures who best embodied the fine line between sophistication and craftsmanship that characterizes Japanese visual culture.
Trained in architecture (a degree he never completed, as in 1950 he began working for the Japanese design company Teikokukizai), Kuramata developed as a furniture and product designer, creating a manufacturing philosophy centered on elevating the power of materials. He considered the material as the voice and content of each piece of furniture, where there is no separation between form, material, and interior, but rather they are a whole.
Shiro Kuramata (1934-1991), Model Vase, Double Vase, Floating Feather, rose-tinted glass plexiglass and glass or plexiglass test tube and feather. Photo @ Bonhams. Via Pinterest
Cabinet de Curiosité. Shiro Kuramata. Via collections.vam.ac.uk
In 1965, at the age of 31, Kuramata took the initiative to found his own studio in Tokyo, called Kuramata Design Office, from which he continued to work on countless well-known designs produced to this day, in collaboration with brands such as Vitra, Memphis, Cappellini, and numerous Japanese labels. He also worked closely with the stylist and later perfumer Issey Miyake, designing most of the interiors for his boutique stores.
Through design, Kuramata explored the new technologies offered by the post-war era, using industrial materials such as aluminum, glass, and acrylic, which lent a light and unconventional character to his designs. Thanks to this decontextualization of materials, he was able to create pieces that straddled the line between functional and contemplative, more akin to works of art. The famous Miss Blanche chair is a prime example, crafted from transparent acrylic resin through which paper tulips are visible—a piece that has become an emblem of Japanese modernist design. For him, the material embodied the qualities of transparency, translucency, reflectivity, opacity, and tactility.
Shiro Kuramata Miss Blanche' chair, Designed 1988. Via Pinterest
Armchair, Sing Sing Sing. Shiro Kuramata for XO, France. 1985. Via Pinterest
"The function of design should not be limited to its practicality. Its appeal should also consider its functionality." - Shino Kuramata
The brilliance of his pieces, as poetic as they are often grotesque, finds its balance in the relationship between form and function, influenced by artists and designers such as Mondrian and Judd, from whom Kuramata embraced minimalist, surrealist, and abstract ideals. As an interior designer, Shiro Kuramata worked on more than 300 restaurants and commercial spaces. His collection with the renowned brand Memphis Milano has secured his place in the history of 20th-century design.
Arm sofa. Shiro Kuramata for Cappellini. Via Pinterest
Considered a visionary of 20th-century design, Kuramata used color as an integral part of the material's expressive potential. For Kuramata, colored elements held much of the object's vibrant soul, creating a balance with the transparency of the glass and resin. Color lent his designs a sculptural, inviting, and playful character. He believed that a piece of furniture or product is never truly silent, nor is its expression confined to its own form. A vibrant atmosphere always surrounds it, and color and light modify its core energy.
Coffee table. Shiro Kuramata for Memphis Milano. Via Pinterest
Design by Shiro Kuramata. Via Instagram
In 1990, Shiro Kuramata was named a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture, and today his designs are valued at up to €50,000. Many of his pieces are part of the permanent collections of institutions such as the MoMA in New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Vitra Design Museum, among others.
The book that Phaidon has dedicated exclusively to his work, career and writings is valued at €780 on the second-hand market.
