Commenting on the show, Hilary Jay, Executive Director of The Design Center at Philadelphia University, said: "By viewing the lifespan of the Straight Back Chair, the visitor can realize how an artist creates a well designed product that can then be translated into a more accessible piece of furniture for the public."

From 1946 to 1954, Knoll, an international manufacturer of modern furniture for the workplace and the home, produced a series of designs by woodworker and craftsman George Nakashima. For Nakashima, who made each of his designs by hand at his workshop in New Hope, Pennsylvania, this was an opportunity to see how craftsmanship and industry could be joined to create pieces of high quality for large-scale production.

George Nakashima (1905-1990) was born in Spokane, Washington, and grew up in the forests of the Olympic Peninsula. He attended the University of Washington, where he initially studied forestry before switching to architecture. After earning his master's degree in architecture at MIT in 1930, Nakashima went to work for modern architect Antonin Raymond in Tokyo. Under Raymond, Nakashima spent three years supervising the construction of the first reinforced concrete building in Pondicherry, India. When war broke out, Nakashima returned via Tokyo to the United States. Shortly after his marriage to Marion and the birth of his daughter, Mira, the family was interned at the camps in Minidoka, Idaho. It was there that Nakashima met Gentaro Hikogawa, a man trained in traditional Japanese carpentry. Under his tutelage, Nakashima learned to master traditional Japanese hand tools and joinery techniques. His studio, George Nakashima Woodworker, S.A., still produces most of Nakashima's original designs, as well as his daughter's.

Commenting on her father's approach to woodworking, Mira said: "Work for him was a spiritual calling, a linking of his strength to a transcendental force, a surrender to the divine, a form of prayer."

In 1946, Nakashima agreed to have a few of his designs – including the Straight Chair – marketed by Knoll, a manufacturer of innovative modern furniture that was founded in New York three years earlier. In order to accommodate growing demand, Nakashima worked with the Knoll product development team to manufacture his furniture at an off–site Knoll facility.

The relationship between Nakashima and Knoll ended in 1954. Then in 2008, Knoll, in collaboration with Mira Nakashima, reintroduced the Nakashima Straight Chair and Splay–Leg Table to its product line. In order to get the chair and table ready once again for large–scale production, Knoll's product engineers had the pieces digitally scanned and translated into 3D modeling and architectural programs. Mira Nakashima worked closely with the Knoll design team to ensure the integrity and quality of the final product compared to the designer's original. Today, the Knoll versions of the Straight Chair and Splay–Leg Table are manufactured in upstate New York.

The opening reception for George Nakashima and Knoll: The Making of an Object will take place Wednesday April 29, 2009 from 5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. It is free and open to the public.

About Knoll

Since 1938, Knoll has been recognized internationally for creating workplace and residential furnishings that inspire, evolve and endure. Today, our commitment to modern design, our understanding of the workplace and our dedication to sustainable design has yielded a unique portfolio of products that respond and adapt to changing needs. Knoll is aligned with the U.S. Green Building Council and can help companies, governments, healthcare organizations and educational institutions achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) workplace certification. Knoll is the contract furniture industry's first member of the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX®) and is the founding sponsor of the World Monuments Fund Modernism at Risk program.

Contact:

David E. Bright
Knoll, Inc.
212 343-4135
dbright@knoll.com