The centennial of sori yanagi is celebrated with a 3 ‐cities retrospective Asia tour. the retrospective exhibition is a showcase of the life, works and philosophy of sori yanagi. for the first time an Asian tour ‘beauty born, not made’ travelling to Singapore, Hong Kong and Taipei will be held to celebrate the centenary of the design master.

sori yanagi (1915 – 2011) was the pioneer of industrial design in japan, and one of the 20th century Asian designers most acclaimed in the western world. he was the man behind some of the most iconic furniture such as the butterfly stool (1956) and elephant stool (1954), whereas his metal and ceramic tableware design also made him a household name in japan, and remains highly influential to contemporary homeware design.

Born in 1915 in tokyo, japan, sori yanagi was the son of soetsu yanagi, the founder of the japanese folk crafts (mingei) movement that promotes the beauty of everyday objects. raised in a cross-­‐cultural family and inspired by modernist design movements, including the bauhaus, sori yanagi was both aspired and critical to traditional handcraft, and advocates the merge of the two worlds of craft and industry by adapting the authenticity of the handmade with the advantages of industrial mass production. this approach laid the foundation of japanese modern design, and the works by yanagi reflect an exemplary understanding of industrial production without losing the lightness, delicacy and humanity as in traditional handcraft.

the asia exhibition tour is the first time showing his works across 3 cities – nanyang academy of fine arts in singapore, taiwan design museum in taipei, and gallery 27 in hong kong. apart from renowned furniture and tableware design by yanagi, the tour also showcases rare objects such as the 1972 sapporo winter olympic torch holder. exhibitions in the 3 cities will feature similar exhibits with different curatorial approach.

the hong kong exhibition, entitled ‘the designer’s heart’, will focus on the narratives of yanagi’s six-­‐ decade design journey from a more personal perspective. target for fellow designers and design enthusiasts, the exhibition hopes to present yanagi not only as a pioneer of japanese design, but also as a down-­‐to-­‐earth practitioner who has a gentle heart for the appreciation of things. the exhibition will unfold through a series of yanagi’s products and graphic works, as well as projects for public spaces. rarely seen archival photos and design prototypes of the designer and his works will also be featured.

the exhibition also marks the launch of ‘essays by sori yanagi’, a highly-­‐anticipated account of his design philosophies by yanagihimself which is available in english and chinese.

a design dialogue by shinichi yanagi (president of yanagi design office, son of sori yanagi) and aric chen, (curator of design and architecture, m+ museum for visual culture) will be held in the afternoon of 30 may to share inside stories of sori yanagi and his practice.

guided tour by gallery 27 manager sunnie chan is available by request during the exhibition period.

Know more about kapok – crafted in hong kong
Website: http://www.ka-pok.com/webshop / http://www.gallery27hk.com
Facebook: kapokHK / Sori-Yanagi