Vitra Freeform Sofa by Isamu Noguchi

Isamu Noguchi, born in 1904 in Los Angeles to the Japanese poet Yone Noguchi and the American writer Leonie Gilmour, studied at Columbia University and the Leonardo da Vinci Art School. He subsequently established his first independent studio and received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1927. He then worked as an assistant to Constantin Brancusi in Paris and presented his first solo exhibition in New York. He studied brush drawing in China and worked with ceramics under Jinmatsu Uno in Japan. His experiences living and working in different cultural circles are reflected in his work as an artist. Isamu Noguchi is considered a universal talent with a creative oeuvre that went beyond sculpture to encompass stage sets, furniture, lighting, interiors as well as outdoor plazas and gardens. His sculptural style is indebted to a vocabulary of organic forms and exerted a sustained influence on the design of the 1950s. “My father, Yone Noguchi, is Japanese and has long been known as an interpreter of the East to the West, through poetry. I wish to fulfill my heritage”, he wrote in his proposal for a Guggenheim Fellowship. Isamu Noguchi died in New York in 1988.

Noguchi's sculptural idiom gains full expression in the Freeform Sofa, which clearly distinguishes itself from other designs of the same period. The sofa seems almost like a greatly enlarged sculpture of flat, rounded river stones; yet at the same time, its slender organic form is graceful and vigorous. Noguchi emphasized this effect with thin, but extremely comfortable upholstery padding and a choice of cover fabrics in natural colors. Produced around 1950, today the few remaining pieces achieve record prices at auction. Since 2002, the group has been produced by the Vitra Design Museum as a fully authentic re-edition. The sofa is suitable not only for use in the living room, but also in lobbies, hotels and retail shops.

• Wooden beech frame
• Classic upholstery with removable fabric cover
• Ivory sofa comes with maple legs
• Design is the process by which almost all objects in Vitra's surroundings are instilled with a specific design and function - from cars to paper clips, from clothing to chairs. And design does not just mean giving things a shape. Design creates the basis which enables things to function in the desired manner. It is a process in which complementary but often mutually contradictory requirements have to be met (comfort, technology, ergonomics, ecology, economics, aesthetics). Design can be successful only when the balance of all these factors is attained.
• Once in the factory, Vitra staff manufacture furniture to precise standards, individually ensuring the quality of each product.
• Vitra has been certified for DIN EN ISO 9001: 2000.
• Vitra's focus on quality does not end at the factory door - they believe that providing clients with exceptional service is just as important as manufacturing furniture. In order to make certain Vitra clients enjoy consistently high quality in all Vitra products, they have set up their own test center which monitors products against criteria that are far more stringent than the statutory standards
• Ergonomics is an applied science that studies the relationship between human beings and machines. Vitra produces furniture that responds to the ergonomic requirements of the body and as a consequence has a positive effect on health and well-being. All Vitra products (except for the experimental series Vitra Edition) have been tested by independent institutions. They comply with prescribed standards under the European Directive on VDU Work and are marked with the GS seal (= Gepr fte Sicherheit or Tested Safety, seal of the independent certification company LGA).
• Vitra's contribution to ecological conservation does not stop with a close examination of materials and processes. All aspects of the company's work involve ecological thinking.
• In 1991, Vitra set up an internal ecology committee to discuss environmental topics. This team identifies new tasks, and its project teams work together to find solutions.
• Vitra uses only non-CFC foams and adhesives free of toxic solvents; all possible materials are recycled. Wherever possible, Vitra uses recycled materials.
• Vitra's goal during production is to minimize noise and emission levels as well as to reduce waste. Packaging materials are kept to a minimum and re-used as often as possible.
• Features:Green and light gray sofas come with walnut colored legs
• Collection: Isamu Noguchi
• Distressed: No
• Country of Manufacture: Germany

• Overall Dimensions: 51.25'' H x 118'' W x 28.25'' D