BEAN STOOL
2000
Size: 420mm (W), 310mm (D), 370~420mm (H)
Materials: Pine and iron
Colors: Dark brown, brown, off-white
This stool, the form of which resembles a broad bean while also exposing its beautiful wood grains, was produced at the time of the opening of the first OGATA SHOP in 2000. It was exhibited at the TREND exhibition space of the international trade show Maison&Objet 2009 in Paris. The carefully handcrafted seat reveals fine natural grains in five places. Beans, in other words seeds, symbolize the beginning of life, and grow well or poorly depending on the rearing environment. Employing such nature of beans in a metaphorical sense, Ogata wishes to interpret the values of the environment surrounding us and the process of our development. This is a symbolic work also for the artist.
BUTTON BENCH
2009
Size: 920mm (W), 470mm (D), 435~460mm (H)
Materials: Pine, iron, plywood, FRP, leather, urethane foam, brass
Colors: One version only
Other items: Stool
This bench was first shown at the OGATA N.Y. Exhibition held in New York in October, 2009.
It consists of button-like parts made with various materials such as iron and leather, together with Ogata’s original acrylic resin. With this motif of buttons, which play a role of linking one part with another, Ogata attempted to represent bonding, such as human relations bonded by fate, and the existence of all things through their interrelationship. By intentionally making the height of the seats different and creating various feelings of comfort, Ogata’s intention with such ingenuity was to convey the message that people will find a comfortable place themselves, just as they do when they sit on a piece of driftwood or rock, by awaking the natural human senses which we tend to neglect in an overly convenient contemporary society.
WOODEN CUSHION CHAIR
2011
Size:
- Chair; 680mm (W), 920mm (D), 850mm (H), 310mm~380mm (SH)
- Ottoman; 680mm (W), 680mm (D), 380mm (H)
Materials: Red oak, iron, plywood, urethane foam
Colors: One version only
Other items: Bench (large), bench (small)
A classic leather upholstered button-tufted chair is reproduced in facsimile using wood, in minute detail, from decorative elements to creases. The cushions consist of wooden sections which are designed to sink together with the buttons as a person sits on the chair. This is an intriguing work with an element of surprise which makes the user smile, overturning the stereotypical idea that wooden chairs should be hard.
BOX STOOL
2008
Size: 410mm (W), 320mm (D), 460mm (H)
Materials: Leather, iron, plywood
Colors: Off-white, black, white
Other items: Chair, high stool, sofa
A cardboard that is wet and damaged as if trampled on is carefully reproduced in facsimile with details even as fine as wrinkles, using leather only. This series of works was first exhibited in Paris, at the international trade fair, Maison&Objet in 2008, and then at the TREND exhibition space in 2009. Ogata says; “Chairs are not only those that are comfortable and pleasant looking. When necessary, we easily sit on an object such as a cardboard box even if it was not made as a chair”. Based on this idea, a cardboard box which is often easily thrown away, was exquisitely crafted in leather. It implies the irony concerning the problem of resource and waste.
MELTING SHELF／MELTING CHAIR
2007
Size:
- Large shelf; 900mm (W), 150mm (D), 350mm (H)
- Small shelf; 300mm (W), 150mm (D), 360mm (H)
- Leather-seat chair; 440mm (W), 580mm (D), 790mm (H)
Materials: Pine and leather (seat of chair)
Colors: One version only
Other items: Table, bench, mirror, wooden chair
These are of the melting series characterized by forms in which the wood appears to be melting, released at the OGATA Original Furniture Exhibition held in Hong Kong in 2007. They are intended to visualize the concern for ever advancing global warming to the extent that it melts the glaciers. By creating wooden furniture, which does not melt in a melting form, Ogata raises an alarm regarding global warming.
