Category — U.S.

Brooklyn-based Japanese designer Takeshi Miyakawa recently updated his website with new images. Although I don’t believe the work is necessarily new (hard to tell because there are no dates), there were some pieces that I hadn’t seen before, such as the Zero Shift table and the Gang of 4 storage unit.

Zero Shift. By sliding the two pieces, you can change the configurations and size according to your room. It can also be used for storage, i suppose.

Gang of 4. Four different-colored bookshelves that can be configured in multiple ways.

Miyakawa first landed on my, and probably many others’, radar screen when he showcased his work at BKLYN DESIGNS in 2008. His fractal 23 storage unit and rite of spring, an installation first shown at BKLYN DESIGNS in 2009, became immediate internet sensations, and rightly so. I remain a huge fan of his work and, if I had the moolah, would love to purchase one of his pieces from Voos Furniture (who has them priced in the low 5-digit range).

Fractal 23 ($19,000)

Rite of Spring

On Friday the Whitney Museum announced the list of artists selected to participate in the Whitney Biennial from February 25 through May 30 2010. Naturall, the majority of constituents are newcomers and one of them is Aki Sasamoto, a Brooklyn-based Japanese artist practicing in the media of performance and installation.

“Secrets of My Mother’s Child” (2009)

Unfortunatly, I haven’t had the opportunity to see any of the recent Columbia grad’s work in person but if you are interested in learning more, Ashley Rawlings (who I had the utmost pleasure hosting for lunch several weeks ago) has a piece on her in the latest issue of ArtAsiaPacific, in which he discusses, among other things, the curious piece above.

via art observed

Related:

• Ouch | 2008 Whitney Biennial

Exciting news! The kind folks over at Branch just emailed me to inform me that that it’s official. They have signed an agreement to be the exclusive U.S. distributor of WASARA line of biodegradable tableware. They are taking pre-orders now and expect to start shipping in mid-December.

This is especially exciting for me because I helped facilitate the introduction and initial communications between Wasara and Branch!

Related:

• the very first Wasara post
• designer of the Wasara plates here and here

On Monday I went to go check out the opening reception of JAPAN BRAND: The Wish List pop-up shop at Felissimo’s headquarters in midtown Manhattan. The show runs through December 24th and is a must-see for anyone scouring the market for unique gifts. The impressive lineup is suitable for all budgets, and I mean all. Prices start in the single digits for exquisite washi-paper mailing cards and go as high as $18,000 for an amazing bicycle designed by Alexander Gelman and hand-lacquered by the Yamanaka Urushi masters of Ishikawa Prefecture.

Japan Brand: The Wish List
Felissimo Design House
10 West 56th St, New York
Only until December 24
Monday-Saturday, 11am-6pm

One of the highlights for me was seeing some pieces from the Nippon Sense collection, a masterfully designed series of furniture that was a collaborative effort between the Japanese and Italians.

Alexander Gelman‘s urushi bicycle

Monacca bags hand-crafted from environmentally sustainable Yanase cedar sheets harvested in Kochi Prefecture.

An awesome selection of knives for any respectable epicurean.

Also, be sure to check their website for upcoming events through the end of this month and into December that include tempting hands-on sake tasting, a cooking demo from Nobu chef Akiko Thurnauer and much more.

I have a confession to make. I have never been to the West Coast. Not even once. It’s a region (and perhaps a culture) that I’m not familiar with. But when Jaime Di Dio Aoyama, founder of Studio Aiuto and based in the tiny San Diego coastal town of Leucadia, sent me these pictures I suddenly had a strong urge to plan a visit.

Co-founder and in-house designer Seitaku “Tak” Aoyama was raised in Japan but currently works out of Leucadia, where he overlays his own Japanese perspective with the indigenous culture. For his latest project, Tak designed this surfboard that, in his own words, is a celebration of the fact that “life and death coexist…. When I no longer need my body, I will contribute it to nature with the possibility that animals could use my former ‘home’ as their own. They can have a party in there.”

I wonder if I could get away with wearing something like this from the Autunm/Winter 09 collection of Engineered Garments? It’s considerably toned down from some of their previous designs.

I had a nice chuckle today reading through Christoph Niemann’s latest post in his New York Times’ blog. I can especially relate to his thoughts on sleeping with your kids and how the initial sweet cuddling quickly manifests itself into a problematic reality.

Modernica just emailed me about their latest creation, the Alpine Series Bed, hitting showrooms today. On a related note, I think my search for the perfect bed has ended. Designed by Jay Novak (one of the founders of Modernica), the bed uses structural bent laminated wood to achieve its stylish form. And I love that you don’t need a box spring. Me and box springs…we’ve had our differences. Wish I could afford the  $2895 price tag!

Oh how I wish I lived in California! According to his website, Mitsuru Koga – known for his small-scale work with sea stones and other objects of nature – will be conducting a leaf-cutout workshop this weekend at Tortoise in Venice, CA. Aren’t these cutouts amazing?

“An insect makes exquisite cutouts in a leaf.” – Mitsuru Koga

Related:

• Driftwood Dinosaurs by Mitsuru Koga
• Sea Stone Rocks by Mitsuru Koga

Japanese paper artist Noriko Ambe will be showing her fantastic terramorphic (is that a word?) topographic sculptures at Scai The Bathhouse Gallery in Tokyo beginning this Friday. Ambe goes about her work by making precise cut-outs in books, magazines and other forms of paper. In these selected works she uses a synthetic paper called YUPO, made of 100% recyclable materials. Fear not terra firma-friendly New Yorkers – Ambe will be showing at the 10th anniversary group show at Mixed Greens in Chelsea starting July 9th.

If you find that this appeals to your senses you may consider picking up some topographically inspired stationary by Drill Design.

Related:

• Choe U Ram at Scai the Bathhouse