Isamu Noguchi
'Rudder' Coffee table for Herman Miller, c. 1948
Birch, Zinc plated steel
40 x 127 x 91 cm
15 3/4 x 50 x 35 7/8 in
15 3/4 x 50 x 35 7/8 in
IMNG0005
Copyright The Artist
Further images
Designed by Isamu Noguchi, the Rudder (also known as Fin) furniture stand among the most daring furniture experiments of the post-war period. Conceived as a complete suite and introduced by...
Designed by Isamu Noguchi, the Rudder (also known as Fin) furniture stand among the most daring furniture experiments of the post-war period. Conceived as a complete suite and introduced by Herman Miller in 1948, the work shared the company’s modern clarity but pushed far beyond convention. Noguchi approached furniture with the sensitivity of a sculptor, bringing an expressive, almost architectural quality that blurred the line between functional design and fine art. His biomorphic forms were strikingly ahead of their time, and while admired, proved too radical for mass production. After just three years, the suite was discontinued, leaving behind a brief but influential moment in modern design history.
Literature
Isamu Noguchi: Sculptural Design, Eisenbrand, Posch and von Vegesack, ppg. 121, 275The Sculpture of Isamu Noguchi, 1924-1979: A Catalogue, Grove and Botnick, fig. 804
Design: Isamu Noguchi and Isamu Kenmochi, Rychlak, Mori, Murayama and Matsumoto, ppg. 60-61