Isamu Noguchi Coffee Table, Wood and Glass
View Similar Items
Isamu Noguchi Coffee Table, Wood and Glass
About the Item
- Creator:Isamu Noguchi (Designer),Vitra (Manufacturer)
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 15.75 in (40 cm)Width: 50.4 in (128 cm)Depth: 36.62 in (93 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Contemporary
- Production Type:New & Custom(Current Production)
- Estimated Production Time:8-9 weeks
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Barcelona, ES
- Reference Number:Seller: VI.ISAMU.COFFEE.TABLE.11stDibs: LU1427223984582
Noguchi Coffee Table
As Isamu Noguchi (1904–88) saw it, he only created one truly good piece of furniture, a coffee table. Despite his legacy of design that combined dynamic forms with organic materials and resulted in an oeuvre still widely celebrated today, the Japanese-American artist and designer considered the Noguchi coffee table his singular success.
In 1944, Noguchi created the first version of his classic coffee table as a riff on a piece he designed for former MoMA president, A. Conger Goodyear, five years earlier. According to design lore, industrial designer and magazine journalist George Nelson visited Noguchi while working on an article titled “How to Make a Table” and found him at work on a prototype for the piece that would later become the Noguchi coffee table. Nelson, then the director of design at Herman Miller, was not only so taken by Noguchi’s creation that he used it to illustrate his essay but he also allegedly convinced the legendary furniture manufacturer to produce it. Beginning in 1948, the company did.
Art enthusiasts may compare the Noguchi table’s sculptural base to the work of a certain Romanian sculptor — and for good reason. A young Isamu Noguchi worked as Constantin Brancusi’s assistant for several months in 1927 before embarking on a wide-spanning career. He dabbled in furniture and lighting design, sculpture and more. Although it was produced some 15 years after Noguchi left Brancusi’s studio, the coffee table, with its sinuously shaped base, bears a stylistic similarity to Brancusi’s work. It also draws from the kind of abstract sculpture that Noguchi began to create during the 1940s while living in New York City’s Greenwich Village, where he first designed the table.
Comprising just two materials — wood and glass — the coffee table is visually complex yet ingenious in its simplicity. Two interlocking, identical wood pieces act as the base of Noguchi’s design, and they’re covered with a glass top. Due to the base’s asymmetrical form, the table looks different from any angle — and the clear top ensures that no angle is ever obscured.
When it debuted in the Herman Miller catalogue, the Noguchi coffee table was touted as a “sculpture for use.” Noguchi produced the first version of the table in rosewood, and Herman Miller now offers it in black, cherry, walnut and white ash, each of which uniquely celebrates the artist’s deep appreciation for natural materials.
Isamu Noguchi
A sculptor, painter, ceramicist and furniture and lighting designer, Isamu Noguchi was one of the most prolific and protean creative forces of the 20th century and a key figure in the development of organic modernism. Noguchi’s sculptures and designs share a common spirit: one of lyrical abstraction, tempo and flow and harmonious balance.
Noguchi was born in Los Angeles to an American mother and Japanese father, and spent most of his childhood in Japan. He returned to the United States at age 13, went to high school in Indiana and enrolled at Columbia University to study medicine. At the same time, he took night courses in sculpture. Within three months, he left college to pursue art full time. Noguchi was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1927 and traveled to Paris to work under Constantin Brancusi. It marked a turning point. Inspired by Brancusi, Noguchi embraced abstraction and began to sculpt in the expressive, rhythmic style that would be the hallmark of his work.
Once back in New York, Noguchi was introduced to design by what would become a lifelong collaboration creating sets for choreographer Martha Graham. His first industrial designs were in Bakelite: a sleek clock-timer created circa 1932, and his famed Zenith Radio Nurse intercom, from 1937. Ten years later, Herman Miller introduced Noguchi’s now-iconic glass-topped coffee table with an articulated wooden base. His washi paper and bamboo Akari light sculptures, handmade in Japan, debuted in 1951. In the late 1950s, Noguchi designed for Knoll, creating such pieces as his dynamic Cyclone table and rocking stool.
For collectors, Noguchi’s furniture and lighting designs remain his most accessible work. As you will see on 1stDibs, they have the same power and presence that Noguchi brought to his art.
- Charlotte Perriand Accordo Low Table, Brown Lacquered Wood by CassinaBy Cassina, Charlotte PerriandLocated in Barcelona, BarcelonaLow table designed by Charlotte Perriand in 1985. Relaunched by Cassina in 2009. Manufactured by Cassina in Italy. This low table, with its audacious sculptural look, was designe...Category
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWood
- Charlotte Perriand Accordo Low Table, Brown Lacquered Wood by CassinaBy Cassina, Charlotte PerriandLocated in Barcelona, BarcelonaLow table designed by Charlotte Perriand in 1985. Relaunched by Cassina in 2009. Manufactured by Cassina in Italy. This low table, with its audacious sculptural look, was designe...Category
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWood
$5,687 Sale Price / item20% Off - Charlotte Perriand Accordo Low Table, Red Lacquered Wood by CassinaBy Cassina, Charlotte PerriandLocated in Barcelona, BarcelonaLow table designed by Charlotte Perriand in 1985. Relaunched by Cassina in 2009. Manufactured by Cassina in Italy. This low table, with its audacious sculptural look, was designe...Category
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWood
- Charlotte Perriand Accordo Low Table, Mat Black Lacquered Wood by CassinaBy Cassina, Charlotte PerriandLocated in Barcelona, BarcelonaLow table designed by Charlotte Perriand in 1985. Relaunched by Cassina in 2009. Manufactured by Cassina in Italy. This low table, with its audacious sculptural look, was designe...Category
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWood
- Isamu Kenmochi Mid-Century Modern Wood Coffee Table, Tendo, 1967By Isamu KenmochiLocated in Barcelona, BarcelonaIntroduce a touch of Japanese Mid-Century Modern design to your home with this stunning Isamu Kenmochi coffee table. The sleek and Minimalist design is perfect for adding a touch of ...Category
Vintage 1960s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsPlywood
- Isamu Noguchi Akari Ceiling Lamp 31NBy Isamu NoguchiLocated in Barcelona, BarcelonaPendant lamp model 31N designed by Isamu Noguchi. Manufactured by Ozeki & Company Ltd. (Japan.) Bamboo ribbing structure covered by washi paper manufactured according to the tradit...Category
1990s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal
- Isamu Noguchi Style Biomorphic Coffee TableBy Isamu NoguchiLocated in West Palm Beach, FLIsamu Noguchi style biomorphic coffee table. Extremely rare form, utilizing a molded mica wrapped solid wood top. Surface scratches to the top (please re...Category
Vintage 1950s Unknown Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsHardwood, Paint
- Isamu Noguchi coffee table by Herman Miller.By Isamu NoguchiLocated in Clifton Springs, NYFor your viewing is Isamu Noguchi Coffee Table produced between 1965 and 1980. Over all height is 15.75" and the thickness of the glass is 0.75" (19mm) This table came out of a 35 ye...Category
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsGlass, Cherry
- 1950s Glass Coffee Table Organic Mahogany Style of Isamu NoguchiBy Isamu NoguchiLocated in Chula Vista, CA1950s Free form glass coffee table with solid mahogany wood tripod base Simple brilliant modern organic form. Attributed to the style of...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMahogany, Lacquer
- Isamu Noguchi Prismatic TableBy Isamu NoguchiLocated in Dronten, NLA Prismatic table in white enameled aluminum by Isamu Noguchi for Vitra. The table design was based on geometric forms and has an interesting three-legged base with a hexagonal top. ...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsAluminum
- Early IN-50 Coffee Table with Green Glass by Isamu NoguchiBy Herman Miller, Isamu NoguchiLocated in Grand Rapids, MIUSA, 1940s Early version 3/4" uranium green glass IN-50 coffee or cocktail table designed by Isamu Noguchi for Herman Miller. CONDITION NOTES: The original glass is in fair condition...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsUranium Glass, Ash
- Round Wood and Glass Coffee Table with ShelfBy Johnny PouxLocated in kingston, NYRevolution table A machine pared down to its most simple parts, this coffee table with its five circular elements gracefully rotates. It features lathe-turned wooden wheels with l...Category
2010s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBronze
$7,800 / item
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
A Guide to Herman Miller’s Most Iconic Furniture
The prolific manufacturer has partnered with many of the world’s top designers since opening its doors in 1923. Here are some of the company’s greatest hits, which helped transform the American home and office.
These Surreal and Sustainable Lamb Tables Are Based on a 1942 Dalí Painting
The artist envisioned them as part of a hay-strewn library.