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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, suggesting luminous and weightless. Noguchi said of the series: “The harshness of electricity is… 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 were made by highly skilled craftspeople in the traditional way. A wire frame is wrapped with hand cut paper glued to the frame. Each piece takes a considerable time to make. It is stamped with the sun and moon symbol and Noguchi signature – this is a late twentieth century addition, from approximately the 1990s. It is in excellent vintage condition and has been re-wired and PAT tested for the UK.
L50 H165cm
G338