Isamu Noguchi (American 1904-1988)
'Rudder' Stool, designed 1944
£18,900
Auction: 28 April 2023 at 11:00 BST
Description
model no. IN-22, birch plywood, plated steel and rubber
Dimensions
41.2cm high, 35.5cm wide, 62cm deep (16 1/4in high, 14in wide, 24 3/8in deep)
Provenance
Provenance
Private Collection, New York;
Wright Auctions, Chicago, December 2015;
Johnson Trading Gallery, New York, where acquired by the present owner in 2016.
Footnote
Literature
Isamu Noguchi: Sculptural Design, exh. cat., Vitra Design Museum, Berlin, 2002, p. 121;
Rychlak, Bonnie, et. al., Design: Isamu Noguchi and Isamu Kenmochi, New York, 2007, pp. 60 and 61.
Isamu Noguchi’s ‘rudder’ stool takes its name from the singular wooden leg of the piece that, alongside the two further metal legs, is reminiscent of a ship’s rudder. This graceful stool is of a deceptively simple form that is synonymous with Noguchi’s work. Exploration of organic forms was at the forefront of Noguchi’s work and during the 1940s, his work was influenced by the Surrealists, creating biomorphic sculptures of interlocking slabs. In 1947, Noguchi began his fruitful relationship with Herman Miller who manufactured the rudder stools and accompanying tables.