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Thumbnail-size images of copyrighted artworks are displayed under fair use, in accordance with guidelines recommended by the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for the Visual Arts, published by the College Art Association in February 2015.
"Miss Blanche"
Japanese
Last quarter 20th century
Designed 1988: manufactured 1989
Object Place: East Asia, Tokyo, Japan
Medium/Technique
Acrylic resin; silk; plastic; aluminium
Dimensions
90.17 cm (35 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Maria Antoinette Evans Fund and Gift of Dr. John W. Elliot, by exchange and EDA Curator's Fund
Accession Number1996.32
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope, Asia, Contemporary Art
ClassificationsFurniture
DescriptionThe technological process and modern materials allow the silk roses to be suspended in the clear acrylic resin, giving an illusion of weightlessness and delicacy to a sturdy and immensely heavy object, weighing 70 kilos. The contrast between the presence and the inaccessibility of the preserved roses reinforces the sense of illusion. This armchair is entitled "Miss Blanche", inspired by the corsage worn by and named after the central character in Tennessee Williams's 'A Streetcar Named Desire'.
ProvenanceBy descent to the artist's widow, Mrs. Meiko Kuramata, Tokyo, Japan; 1996, sold by Mrs. Meiko Kuramata through Theo Theodorou, Dulwich, London, to the MFA. (Accession date: March 27, 1996)