Masanori Umeda for Edra

MASANORI UMEDA (Japan, 1941) for Edra.
"Rose Chair".
Aluminum and velvet.
In good condition, with slight marks of use.
Measurements: 76 x 88 x 90 cm. 48 cm (chair height).
The "Rose" armchair by Masanori Umeda, created in 1990 as part of the Edra Flower Collection, is a paradigmatic example of how sculpture and furniture design can merge to generate pieces of strong visual impact. Its padded structure reproduces the shape of a rose in full opening, where the petals not only make up the aesthetics of the seat, but also fulfill an ergonomic function. The work is part of a tradition of sculptural furniture that seeks to reinterpret organic elements through contemporary materials, an approach that Edra has promoted since the late 20th century.
Born in 1941 in Kanagawa, Japan, Masanori Umeda trained at the Kuwasawa School of Design in Tokyo, where he received his diploma in 1962. In 1967 he moved to Milan, coming into direct contact with the avant-garde of Italian design by working in the studio of Achille Castiglioni and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, absorbing the principles of formal clarity, functionality and experimentation that would characterize all his work. Between 1970 and 1979, Umeda was a design consultant for Olivetti, contributing to the brand's consolidation as a benchmark for technological innovation and refined aesthetics. In 1980 he returned to Japan and founded his own studio, U-Metadesign Inc. from where he developed emblematic projects such as the Tawaraya bed for Memphis in 1981 and the Tomato Bench in Okayama in 1989, a year before conceiving the Edra Flower Collection, which includes the Flower armchair.
Throughout his career, Umeda has received multiple international awards: the Braun Prize in Germany (1968), the Japanese Commercial Associate Designer Award (1984) and the First Glass Design Award (1986).