George Nakashima
Designer
In the workshop of George Nakashima, the soul of the tree was celebrated. "It is an art- and soul-satisfying adventure to walk the forests of the world, to commune with trees,” Nakashima said, “to bring this living material to the work bench, ultimately to give it a second life." Nakashima, an architect who trained at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, discovered woodworking while in an internment camp during WWII. In 1943, he moved to New Hope, Pennsylvania and opened his studio. There he created pieces highlighting wood’s natural beauty, most notably by including the tree’s rough outer layer, or the “free edge”. Nakashima worked throughout the world; in India, he became deeply spiritual. He developed a goal to construct peace altars on every continent—the first, made of book-matched slabs of black walnut, was installed at New York’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine in 1986.
Exhibited at DESIGN MIAMI.LA 2024 Designed by George Nakashima, June 1, 1985, for Wayne and Ruth Hill of Great Falls, VA. Signed by George Nakashima on attached plaque, under the tabletop. Highly figured, American black walnut book-matched, two board top with rich crotch figure, back pockets and 10 butterflies. 4 central rosewood butterflies and 6 walnut butterflies to seal dramatic cracks. The American black walnut base is composed of a shaped slab, made up of 4 glued boards, and a perpendicular support piece on the floor. Materials: American Black Walnut, Rosewood
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