A monograph on the designer Shiro Kuramata (1934–1991). Originally published in 2013, this definitive book on Kuramata’s work, long out of print, has been reissued in a new edition featuring a new introduction. Presented as a two-volume set, it offers a comprehensive insight into the designer's entire career.
The first volume features a text by Deyan Sudjic, who contextualises Kuramata's life and work against the backdrop of Japan's turbulent history. Alongside a wealth of photographs, it includes previously unpublished sketchbooks, drawings and plans that explore the source of his poetic and thoughtful intellect. It also contains valuable interviews and writings by Kuramata himself, mainly from Japanese magazines and articles from the 1960s to the 1980s, which can be read in both the original Japanese and the new English translation.
The second volume is a detailed catalogue raisonné, compiling over 600 works from his lifetime, including interiors that no longer exist. Many of these works were unpublished prior to this book and are presented here with beautiful archive photography and extensive captions filled with anecdotes on their production background and technical details. Revealing the context behind masterpieces held in the collections of museums such as the Centre Pompidou, MoMA, and the Vitra Design Museum, it is a catalogue truly worthy of being called definitive.
As an homage to Kuramata's work, the book is housed in a special acrylic slipcase. Crafted from four colours of acrylic, this case changes its appearance with the light, elevating the book itself into a beautiful design object.
