shiro kuramata’s ‘how high the moon’ armchair is reissued by tokyo based gallery tamura joe

gallery tamura joe in tokyo has unveiled a series of reissued furniture by one of japan’s most important designers of the 20th century – shiro kuramata. originally created in 1986, the chairs were first used in spaces designed by kuramata, with additional public editions sold by japanese company idee between 1986-1997 and swiss manufacturer vitra between 1986-2009. among the relaunched collection is the ‘how high the moon’ armchair, which is known as the designer’s most famous piece.

now, gallery tamura joe has reissued the iconic chair under supervision of the kuramata design office. the reissues are true to the original design and use of materials made by japanese ironwork craftsmen, achieving kuramata’s signature. originally finished with chrome plating, the new piece features plating with environmentally-friendly materials.

all images courtesy of gallery tamura joe

‘how high the moon’ is made of expanded mesh, thin sheets of steel cut and extruded. it has no interior frame or support yet provides the outline of a chair and its transparent structure, while retaining the shape and silhouette of a traditional upholstered armchair. ‘freeing from gravity’ was one of the key themes for kuramata throughout his entire career, and hence expanded mesh was an ideal material for the designer – the chair appears light and vulnerable yet amply strong enough for use.

gallery tamura joe was founded in 2018 by masatoshi tamura (director and founder of design company ‘sempre’) and journalist joe suzuki. the gallery has celebrated the launch of the collection at the exhibition ‘re-issue / shiro kuramata‘, held between november 9 – 15th, 2019.

product info:

product name: how high the moon

design: shiro kuramata

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