Isamu Noguchi. Table for Vitra

ISAMU NOGUCHI (Los Angeles, USA 1904 - New York, USA 1988) for Vitra.
Noguchi coffee table.
Black painted base with sturdy glass top.
Engraved top Isamu Noguchi, Vitra Design Museum.
New. With original packaging.
Measurements: 40 x 128 x 91 cm.

Japanese-American sculptor and designer Isamu Noguchi designed the Noguchi coffee table in 1944 and today it is an iconic piece of mid-century modern design. The table is a union of sculptural form and everyday function, and is built on two identical wooden elements, almost like Yin and Yang, that support the rounded top of thick, sturdy glass. Noguchi himself thought it was his best design and it is instantly recognizable today. Noguchi designed the first version of the iconic table in 1939 for A. Conger Goodyear, founder of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Furniture manufacturer Herman Miller asked Noguchi to design a similar table for his own collection; described as a functional sculpture, the Noguchi table went on sale in the United States in the late 1940s. In Europe, the table is manufactured by Vitra. Since 2003 (Herman Miller) and 2010 (Vitra Design Museum) respectively, the designer's signature has been engraved on the glass table tops to distinguish them from fakes.
Isamu Noguchis career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculptures and works of public art, Noguchi also designed set designs for several Martha Graham productions and several mass-produced lamps and furniture, some of which are still being made and sold.
In 1947, Noguchi began a collaboration with the Herman Miller Company, when he joined George Nelson, Paul László and Charles Eames to produce a catalog containing what is often considered the most influential set of modern furniture ever produced, including the iconic Noguchi table, which is still in production today. His work lives on around the world and in the Isamu Noguchi Foundation and the Garden Museum in New York.