shiro kuramata at aram gallery, london

shiro kuramata
pipe chairs, 1975
image courtesy of aram gallery

shiro kuramata
the aram gallery, london
on now until july 10th, 2013

having studied architecture at tokyo polytechnic in tokyo, shiro kuramata (1934-1991) founded his own studio in 1965, focusing primarily on interior design. he was involved in more than 300 bar and restaurant projects for which he conceived many of the furnishings for including the ‘glass chair’ (1976), and ‘how high the moon’ steel mesh chair (1986). in the 1970’s kuramata become known for his S-shaped, curvilinear ‘drawer in an irregular form’, a piece of closed storage made from black stained ash, with white lacquered drawer fronts. influenced largely by the work of ettore sottsass and his playful forms and application of bright colors, he eventually joined the italian designer’s milan-based group ‘memphis’. kuramata eventually moved to paris in 1988 where he continued to work until his death in 1991.

this presentation of shiro kuramata’s work at aram gallery comes more than 30 years after his designs were first introduced to europe in 1981 by zeev aram, and coincides the the debut of the two-volume monograph of shiro kuramata compiled by deyan sudjic and published by phaidon. the historical design pieces on show offer insight into the design sensibilities of kuramata and may never be seen in public again.

shiro kuramata
lamps, 1972
image courtesy of aram gallery