Sori Yanagi

 Sori Yanagi

 

b. Tokyo, Japan(1915–2011)

Sori Yanagi, son of the founder of the Mingei (Japanese folk art) movement, was a pioneer of Japanese industrial design. He entered Tokyo Art School in 1934, where he studied both art and architecture, and drew inspiration from the work of Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand, particularly during the 1940s when she worked in Japan. Most of Yanagi's designs are deceptively simple and practical while at the same time exhibiting beautiful elements of traditional Japanese crafts. In his work, and through his aesthetics, Yanagi manages to transform ordinary raw materials into objects of functional poetry. His pieces can be found on display worldwide at museums, including MoMA and the Louvre.

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