Liminal Objects


2025

A three-dimensional grid object made by assembling laser-cut parts from fiberboard (MDF or vulcanized fiber) becomes a kind of number made tangible. By itself, it carries no inherent meaning. But as soon as it is placed within a particular context (living space, urban space, or landscape), it begins to generate various meanings: functional, symbolic, or otherwise.

The use of grid structures dates back to the construction of pyramids in ancient Egypt and to the demarcation of farmland in the Nile River basin. During the Italian Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci and Alberti used mathematical grids in both architectural design and the composition of paintings.

The grid system is often perceived as rigid and cold, the opposite of what we associate with the humanistic. Yet I am fascinated by the contradiction of this emotionless, endlessly repeating division, serving as a backdrop for the free creative acts of human beings. I allow myself to simply gaze at this structure. As I do, different meanings may emerge, and something functional may suddenly come into focus.

This geometric behavior, usually hidden, begins to ripple lightly under the act of looking.


Material: MDF, lacquer paint

Size: variable

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Liminal Objects white lacquered MDF grid sculpture front view So Tanaka Studio
Liminal Objects geometric grid structure detail showing lacquer finish and module pattern Liminal Objects architectural MDF sculpture close-up detail contemporary Japanese furniture
Liminal Objects three-dimensional grid furniture piece in white lacquered MDF Tokyo design Liminal Objects sculptural MDF object side view showing grid pattern and lacquer surface
Liminal Objects modular grid structure in lacquered fiberboard minimalist furniture by So Tanaka
Liminal Objects geometric MDF furniture detail shot contemporary Tokyo craft Liminal Objects architectural grid sculpture in exhibition space white lacquer MDF
Liminal Objects three-dimensional grid structure close-up showing laser-cut MDF assembly Liminal Objects sculptural furniture installation view lacquered MDF grid objects Tokyo studio