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Oki Sato Tables

Japanese, b. 1977

It wasn’t always evident that chief designer and Nendo cofounder Oki Sato would spend his life finding subtle surprises in tables, floor lamps and chairs. He was born in Toronto, where his father worked for Pioneer Electronics, and moved with his family to Tokyo when he was 11. He studied architecture at Waseda University but found the program a little too narrow and rigid for his liking.

After graduating, in 2002, Sato traveled with friends to the Salone del Mobile in Milan and stumbled into the biggest aha moment of his life: He realized that architects could do more than design buildings — they could also design furniture, lighting and other objects. And the architects at the fair appeared to be enjoying plenty of creative freedom while doing so.

Upon returning to Tokyo, Sato founded Nendo, whose name means “flexible clay” in Japanese, with his classmate Akihiro Ito, the firm’s managing director. In 2005, they established a second office, in Milan. Within a few years, Nendo had become an omnipresent name at the fair that had inspired them.

Nendo is remarkable in its ability to blend these two seemingly disparate qualities in objects that are simultaneously provocative and beautiful in their simplicity. And this ability has made the Tokyo- and Milan-based studio one of the most sought-after design firms of the moment.

Nendo is best known for its expansive portfolio of furniture and accessories designed for such luxury makers as BaccaratBisazzaBoffiCappelliniDe PadovaEmecoFLOSFoscariniFritz HansenKartell, Lasvit, Louis PoulsenMoroso and Swarovski, as well as for the one-off and limited-edition pieces presented by galleries like New York’s Friedman Benda. But its range is much broader.

Nendo’s full oeuvre runs the gamut from product packaging for such brands as Coca-Cola and Kenzo to large-scale urban-planning and architecture projects, including Tenri Station Plaza CoFuFun, which populated the space in front of a Japanese rail terminal with a series of conical pavilions, turning it into a sort of urban playground for people of all ages.

Whatever the undertaking, the studio’s approach remains the same: embodying lighthearted insights into the human experience in minimalist forms and details.

Nendo’s wares have been acquired by such institutions as New York’s Museum of Modern Art and Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; London’s Victoria and Albert; and Paris’s Musée des Arts Décoratifs and Centre Pompidou.Find Oki Sato lighting, including lamps he designed for Louis Poulsen, on 1stDibs.

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Creator: Oki Sato
2018 Oki Sato and Nendo of Japan Watercolour 02 table Edition of 3
2018 Oki Sato and Nendo of Japan Watercolour 02 table Edition of 3

2018 Oki Sato and Nendo of Japan Watercolour 02 table Edition of 3

By Oki Sato

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This is an important Watercolour 02 multi-tiered table, initially designed by Oki Sato for Nendo in 2018. Only three of these very limited edition tables exist. The Watercolour 02 c...

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2010s Japanese Modern Oki Sato Tables

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Steel

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Oki Sato tables for sale on 1stDibs.

Oki Sato tables are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of steel and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Oki Sato tables, although gray editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original tables by Oki Sato were created in the modern style in japan during the 21st century and contemporary. Prices for Oki Sato tables can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $25,000 and can go as high as $25,000, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $25,000.