Taichiro Nakai Artwork valuations, appraisals and auction estimates

Taichiro Nakai is a Japanese designer. But historiography has clearly overlooked it. He is one of the figures in the panorama of post-war industrial design in Japan. Read the full biography

Taichiro Nakai is a Japanese designer. But historiography has clearly overlooked it. He is one of the figures in the panorama of post-war industrial design in Japan. He worked on the international recognition of Japanese design. One of the only elements known about Taichiro Nakai is this: he participated in the famous Italian competition, the « First Furniture Select Exhibition » in Cantù from 17 September to 5 October 1955. He was very successful. That year the jury was made up of very famous international designers: the Italian designers Gio Ponti (1891-1979) and Carlo De Carli (1910-1999), the Finnish architect and designer Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) and the Danish designer Finn Juhl (1912-1989). They rewarded Taichiro Nakai with a special price for his living room set. He designed a space consisting of bookcases, a coffee table, armchairs, a free-form sofa and lamps. The entire display made an impression thanks to the perfect mix and match between Italian lines and Japanese simplicity. All pieces were produced by a local company, La Permanente Mobili. Taichiro Nakai perfectly represents the mentality of Japanese designers after the Second World War, taking inspiration from international modern design and adapting it to Japanese traditions.