Shiro Kuramata

Background

Shiro Kuramata was born in Tokyo in 1934 and died in 1991. He studied architecture and interior design at Tokyo Polytechnic and the Kuwazawa Institute for Design, worked for the Maysuya department store from 1957 to 1963 and founded his own practice in 1965, the Kuramata Design Office in Tokyo.

Signature Style

His furniture applies surreal and minimalist idioms to everyday objects, with a growing interest in acrylic and steel. SFMOMA describes his 1980s transparent chairs as "barely there".

Notable Works

• Miss Blanche chair (1988), acrylic with rose petals embedded in the seat
• Revolving Cabinet and Homage to Mondrian cabinet
• Ko-Ko table (1986) and the Progetti Compiuti chests of drawers, made for Cappellini from 1987

Legacy

Cappellini lists the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris, MoMA, the Metropolitan Museum, the Vitra Design Museum and the Museum of Modern Art of Toyama among the museums that hold his designs.