Isamu Noguchi Akari pendant

Isamu Noguchi (1904 – 1988) was an artist, furniture designer, ceramicist, theatre designer and landscape architect. In 1951, he began designing Akari Light Sculptures – 100 of them – to reinvigorate the flailing craft of lantern making in Ozeki. Akari means ‘light’ in Japanese, both illuminous and weightless. Noguchi said of the series: “The harshness of electricity is thus transformed through the magic of paper back to the light of our origin – the sun – so that its warmth may continue to fill our rooms at night.”

Akari lampshades are still made by highly skilled craftspeople in the traditional way. A coiled wire frame is wrapped with paper made from local mulberry-bark, which develops a patina with age. Though this is not a 1^st edition, it is a pre-1990s, pre Vitra edition, as evinced by its original box. It has some age to it and is nicely marked with the artist’s logo. It has no tears or obvious discolouration to the paper shade. Re-wired and PAT tested for the UK.

L120 D120 H120cm. Drop adjustable.

G017