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A Special Book Signing Event with Mira Nakashima
June 13, 2024 @ 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Free
A Special Book Signing Event with Mira Nakashima | Thurs. June 13, 2024 | 5:30 – 8:00 pm ET | In-person
On June 13, 2024, the Museum for Art in Wood will host a special book signing event with renowned furniture designer and architect Mira Nakashima, daughter of George Nakashima, one of the leading innovators of 20th–century furniture. During the event, visitors can meet Mira and have their copy of the book The Nakashima Process signed. The publication illustrates what makes Nakashima’s unique handmade furniture special, featuring original sketches, the philosophy behind her father, George Nakashima’s masterpieces, and family history. Don’t miss this opportunity to meet Mira Nakashima.
Click HERE to preorder the book.
About George Nakashima
George Nakashima (1905–90) was a world-famous woodworker in the second half of the twentieth century. He achieved fame as a leader of the modern American Arts and Crafts movement. George earned a master’s degree in architecture from M.I.T in 1931. In 1934, Nakashima joined the architecture firm of Antonin Raymond, a protégé of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. However, after spending a year in a WWII Japanese American internment camp in 1942, along with his wife and daughter, Mira, Nakashima decided to pursue a new career as a furniture designer, where he championed traditional philosophies and craftsmanship. Nakashima is recognized as one of America’s most eminent furniture designer-craftsman and his style of “organic naturalism” can be seen in the buildings, landscape, and furniture located in the Nakashima Woodworkers Complex in New Hope, PA, which has been recognized as a National Landmark and a World Monument. Private tours of the Nakashima studio are offered through the Nakashima Foundation for Peace and George Nakashima’s work can be viewed at the Metropolitan Museum, Mingei International Museum and Michener Art Museum.
About George Nakashima Woodworkers
Founded in 1945 by the late Japanese American George Nakashima, Nakashima Woodworkers focuses on material and craftmanship by creating timeless furniture pieces from sustainably harvested hardwoods, particularly American black walnut, made to be aesthetically pleasing and utilitarian at the same time. The studio works only with solid wood and with an immense respect for the material. George believed that natural materials, such as wood, should be “studied, understood and respected”. They custom-mill sustainably harvested hardwoods and select the resulting planks individually for each project.
Portrait of Mira Nakashima
Questions? Please contact Katie Sorenson, Director of Outreach and Communications at katie@museumforartinwood.org.