©Louis Vuitton Malletier - Yoshihito Sasaguchi
Q&A
Why did you agree to create an Objet Nomade for Louis Vuitton?
My impression of Louis Vuitton is the quality and art of craftsmanship and manufacturing cultivated in the brand’s long history. I thought I would like to reinterpret the philosophy of Louis Vuitton to create a work which travels through history and future with my expression and techniques, and express the new journey through time.
During the design process for your Objet, which did you consider first: form or function?
Neither shape nor function. I always try to invent something beyond forms. I wanted to create something iconic which strongly symbolizes the philosophy of Louis Vuitton, and I created an object that is universal and timeless.
What have you called your Objet and why?
The stool has been inspired by the blossom flower. I came up with the idea from the motif of quarto foil, and created a stool with natural structure that symbolizes the Louis Vuitton Monograms of petals. This is an object that delivers a strong iconic and symbolic message created with the techniques of wood and leather craftwork – Louis Vuitton’s craftsmanship cultivated in the long history – and constructed with the structure of four petals. The “blossom” stool is also an art object that travels beyond time.
“I always try to invent something beyond forms.”
Tokujin Yoshioka
Biography
Tokujin Yoshioka, the Japanese designer and artist, was born in 1967. He worked under Shiro Kuramata and Issey Miyake, and established his own studio, TOKUJIN YOSHIOKA INC. in 2000. His experimental and innovative creations along with the nature and the senses, which transcend the boundaries of art, design, and architecture, are highly evaluated in the world. He received numbers of international design awards such as Design Miami Designer of the Year 2007. The paper chair “Honey-pop” (2001), Baking A Bread Chair “PANE Chair” (2006) and the Glass project, which started in 2002 – art masterpieces has received high acclaim in the world. Some of his most important works are exhibited as a part of permanent collections in the world’s wellknown museums such as Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, Centre National d’ Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou, The Victoria and Albert Museum, Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum and Vitra Design Museum. Some pieces of “Water Block” are permanently exhibited with masterpieces of Monet, Cézanne and Renoir in the Impressionist Gallery at Musée d’Orsay, Paris. As important architectural projects, there are “Rainbow Church”- the stained glass composed of crystal prisms, and “KOU-AN Glass Tea House” which was exhibited at Seiryu-den in Kyoto, a temple designated as one of National treasures in Japan.
