The Japanese lighting company YAMAGIWA comes back to Fuorisalone after twelve years with its own installation “The Harmony of Form and Function” to present to the international audience of Milano Design Week TALIESIN® series of light fixtures designed by legendary American architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

Thanks to the high precision of wood manufacturing technologies and techniques, as well as to the abilities of its skilled artisans, YAMAGIWA is the only brand worldwide that receive permission from the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation to reissue these items. Thus, the company has collaborated with acclaimed Japanese architects and designers to reinterpret TALIESIN® designs, real examples of Japanese craftsmanship and artistry.

YAMAGIWA will continue to create beautiful living spaces adding value for society through lighting artistry, under the tagline “The Art of Lighting”.

Exhibition Concept

In this era of technological advancements, where artificial intelligence and virtual reality are rapidly gaining traction, we have chosen to showcase the human-centered design of Frank Lloyd Wright in our exhibition. Renowned for his philosophy of "Organic Architecture," Wright advocated for a harmonious integration of architecture and nature, as a response to the dehumanizing impact of functionalist architecture of the time. The mesmerizing geometric forms and warm, indirect lighting of the TALIESIN series of light fixtures stirs our senses and evokes a sense of joy and happiness that is often lost in our contemporary world.

Interior Concept from Shigeru Ban

To best accentuate the beauty of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin Lamp, I thought it would be ideal to use the lamp in

a space with shadow, a sense of texture and materiality, rather than in a museum-like white box. When Wright designed the Taliesin Lamp, he must have envisioned its use in such a space.

The simple paper tube tunnel proposed here, runs through the exhibition space from the entrance to the end of the room. By using the same paper tube material from the bottom all the way up to the ceiling, the tunnel becomes an immersive space, allowing visitors to experience Taliesin’s soft quality of light and its texture of wood without being disturbed.

The paper tube tunnel is reminiscent of the glass tube corridor in the Johnson Wax Building, one of Wright’s masterpieces. A similar tunnel-like space can also be seen in the entrance area of the V. C. Morris Gift Shop, a late work of Wright’s that is also considered as a prototype for the Guggenheim Museum. Here, he used long, thin bricks, whose coloration resembles that of paper tubes.

By using recyclable materials such as paper tubes, I believe that Frank Lloyd Wright’s philosophy is effectively expressed for this temporary exhibition, without wasting building materials.

Statement from Yoshihiro Kokuno, Director of YAMAGIWA Corporation

YAMAGIWA is celebrating its 100th anniversary. The world has changed dramatically over the past 100 years, but we have remained committed to the timeless beauty of lighting and have continued to provide lighting that is a part of people’s lives.

As we reach a new milestone, we will continue to provide high-quality lighting based on the craftsmanship we have cultivated in Japan for the world to see. Our participation in the Milan Design Week is the first step for YAMAGIWA toward the next 100 years. As a leading company in the field of Japanese design lighting, we hope to deliver lighting that resonates with  customers around the world.

Exhibition Information

Venue: Spazio 31 Via Solferino, 31, 20121 Milano MI, Italy
Date: From 18th to 22nd April 2023
Organizer: YAMAGIWA
Interior Design: Shigeru Ban Architects

TALIESIN®

This series of light fixtures represent original Frank Lloyd Wright masterpieces. Manufactured in collaboration with Japanese craftsmen, YAMAGIWA is the only authorized brand in the world to receive permission from the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation to reissue these light fixtures.

Inspired by the natural effects of light in nature, he believed the sun and moonlight that filters through leaves and branches to be beautiful; this has now been captured in the TALIESIN series. They are composed of a series of illuminated rectangular, solid wood boxes that act like branches and leaves to provide an organic sculptural composition to this floor lamp. The boxes provide soft, patterned, indirect illumination while concealing the light sources and reducing glare. These fixtures function as complimentary interior decor both during the day and at night.

Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) is one of the most legendary figures in American architecture of the twentieth century. He was recognized in 1991 by the American Institute of Architects as “the greatest American architect of all time.” He designed over 1,000 structures in his seventy-year career.

His masterpieces, “Fallingwater” and “Guggenheim Museum” have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. As he is known for coining the term “organic architecture,” he established his architectural style, believing that architecture should be at home in nature. He placed importance on the harmonious relationship between the building’s occupants, structure, and surrounding landscape. The Prairie and Usonian houses of the early to mid-twentieth century are remarkable examples of an emphasis on horizontal form and space. He preferred open interiors with no partitions or doors, and tended to design lower ceilings to create a greater sense of spatial comfort. Inspired by the holisticness of nature, when he designed a building he often designed the furniture and light fixtures to accompany it, which would create an aesthetically harmonized surrounding for its occupants.

Partnership with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation

The Frank Lloyd Wright collection includes reproductions of his original masterpieces.In 1955, he began to license his work, creating original designs for the “Taliesin Ensemble” of products in partnership with leading furniture design brands. These products represent refined style, through the expression of an integral relationship between the natural and man-made worlds, and between material and design.

In 1985, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, the organization founded to preserve Wright’s legacy, started reproducing his home décor products to make them commercially available to the public. In 1992, YAMAGIWA was officially commissioned to be a licensee. We were recognized by the Foundation to be a reputable company, using high precision Japanese wood manufacturing technologies and techniques, and employing skilled artisans. After thoroughly examining Wright’s original light fixtures in the United States, with the full cooperation of the Foundation, YAMAGIWA launched its first Frank Lloyd Wright fixture in 1993. Today, YAMAGIWA has collaborated with acclaimed Japanese architects and designers to reinterpret TALIESIN designs for the creation of new products. In all, YAMAGIWA has been manufacturing Wright fixtures in Japan for thirty years.

Shigeru Ban Architects

Shigeru Ban Architects (SBA) which was founded by award winning Japanese Architect Shigeru Ban in 1985 and renowned for its innovative work with timber, paper, and bamboo structures, provides full architectural design services globally from early concept through construction administration.

SBA is composed of eighty professionals throughout three offices in Tokyo, Paris, and New York. The firm’s design excellence, coupled with its commitment to environmental and ecological design, is continuously recognized by the numerous awards received from distinguished institutions throughout the world, including The Pritzker Architecture Prize, which was awarded to Shigeru Ban in 2014. The international award honours the work of an architect that consistently and significantly contributes to humanity and the built environment, showcasing a combination of talent, vision and commitment.

Founded on a strong basis of structural rationality, environmental awareness, and spatial purity, SBA looks at integrating new ways of bringing iconic visions to life across the world. http://www.shigerubanarchitects.com/

YAMAGIWA

YAMAGIWA, founded in 1923, is the leading Japanese manufacturer of light fixtures, using Japanese precision craftsmanship and innovative design, by collaborating with acclaimed international designers and architects. Under the tagline “The Art of Lighting,” YAMAGIWA has been creating beautiful living environments and unrivaled value for society through lighting artistry. https://en.yamagiwa.co.jp/