The Classic Noguchi Lamp as You’ve Never Seen It

WE ARE WELL acquainted with Isamu Noguchi’s iconic Akari light sculptures. The lovely little frameworks of bamboo covered with off-white washi paper (whose design dates to 1951) are the sort of thing uncompromising incense fans own. But who knew that 25 of the more than 170 Akari iterations currently in production are screen printed with flourishes of color or pattern. Not so minimalist, after all.

The decorative printed additions range from pure abstractions (alternating bands of black and white) to simplified pictures (knocked-out bow ties) to Japanese design motifs. “The appeal of the coloured versions is they have more cultural specificity than the unadorned ones but [still] achieve the timeless, placeless universality of Noguchi’s best work,” said Dakin Hart, senior curator at the Noguchi Museum in Long Island City, N.Y.

The Akari “sun” pattern on the 1AY model

Though seemingly art for art’s sake, the decorations have practical dimensions, too. The Akari “sun” pattern (shown above on the 1AY model), for example, leaves an ovoid shape unprinted, creating an analog way to dim the light: Turn the unprinted “sun” toward the wall to modulate the brightness; turn it outward, and the light increases.

In 1951, the artist first visited Gifu, Japan, the global hub of the traditional paper lantern industry, and was inspired to create a translucent, collapsible light sculpture. The result: the Akari, which translates to “light” and “glow” in English. Soon, the artisanal fixtures were among the most beloved (and accessible) modern lamps.

In the U.S., the coloured and embellished Akari are available only through the Noguchi Museum (and strictly sold in tabletop versions), which makes them harder to get your hands on. But, given the basic models’ ubiquity, that scarcity makes them feel particularly un-routine. The screen-printed Akari—more playful than their monastic siblings—appeal to interior designers like Victoria Sass. The Twin Cities, Minn., pro said she also finds the coloured iterations more painterly, “like a piece of art” in contrast with the “more sculptural” unadorned version.

For a spot of color in his Düsseldorf living room, German design influencer Christoph Knopf layered an Akari 9AD “Blue Shovel” in among other midcentury modern pieces and Japanese-inspired décor. As he notes on Instagram, the lantern, lit at night, “is the star of the interior.”

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There’s a tradition in the Forte family of starting on the lowest rungs of the hospitality ladder and working their way up.

In 1911, Rocco Forte emigrated from Italy to Scotland to open a cafe that would mark the first hospitality establishment in the namesake family business. He would go on to open several more restaurants in the U.K., which his son would continue to grow.

Although the hotel group has ebbed and flowed through the decades, it finds itself in a new era with all three adult members of the current generation working for the company.

Charles Forte, 32, is one of those three and followed in the steps of his grandfather by starting in hospitality service. At age 15, he was a waiter at London’s Brown’s Hotel—owned by Rocco Forte Hotels since 2003—and has worked in almost every area of the hotel and restaurant industry since.

Today, he is the group’s director of development, responsible for steering external partnerships and capital investments.

“My role is to find new opportunities and develop ourselves on a much smaller scale,” he says.

In January, Saudi Arabia’s PIF sovereign wealth fund took a 49% investment stake in Rocco Forte Hotels—a deal Charles helped complete. He says that the investment will help guide the group’s next growth phase, which includes a target of three hotels per year and expansion in the Middle East, among other regions. Through 2027, the group is opening four new properties in Italy and working on a project in Marrakesh, Morocco.

The family’s roots are Italian and that’s where many of the group’s most notable properties reside, although according to Charles, more than 40% of the company’s business is within the U.S.

Alongside his two sisters Lydia and Irene, Charles is connecting the Forte name to a new generation of luxury travellers through partnership deals with brands like the Macallan and smaller, longer-term property builds in Italy and elsewhere.

Penta caught up with Forte by phone from his office in London.

PENTA: Do you think working in a family business brings more challenges or opportunities?

Charles Forte: Being in a family business like this affords opportunities you wouldn’t have otherwise. My sisters and I worked in all the different departments of the hotels, and I realistically always wanted to join the business. At other times, I did want to be a filmmaker, but I wanted to be a part of the family legacy. My dad is a good mentor and I’ve never really looked back.

How do you differentiate yourself in an extremely competitive luxury hotel market?

It’s very challenging to differentiate ourselves. Sometimes I struggle to differentiate between us and other luxury brands because a lot of the products are very similar. There’s an international luxury aesthetic that’s very copy and paste, and a lot of the bigger guys are trying to create new brands within their own stable of brands. Our hotels are very design-oriented and not so traditional, for example.

What differentiates us is the family aspect. There’s a real family behind this, and it creates value in our brand. We have this “quiet luxury” aesthetic.

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What is your philosophy on hotel partnerships? Do you find yourself chasing partnerships with big-name brands to stay on par with your competitors?

Partnerships have value if they have relevance and the partner is relevant to the destination. We don’t chase partnerships because if we did, it would mean that something is missing from the hotel. These partnerships should be organic. I’m excited because we recently brought in a new director of marketing who worked at Six Senses, and that will help us do more meaningful and special collaborations and partnerships.

Do you think that’s creating more appeal for Rocco Forte Hotels among the younger generation of luxury travellers?

There’s a broad range of pace in this space, considering how competitive the operator landscape has become. We’re finding that younger travellers aren’t geared towards any specific trend. I think we’re slightly more classic in appeal. We’re not ostentatious. There’s no substitute for beautiful design and great service—we’re not looking to reinvent the world. Depending on which hotel they visit, some people know us as a brand, others as a specific independent hotel, and we’d like consumers to know which brand is behind the property.

In August, we opened Rocco Forte House Milan, which features more longer-stay keys, where stays can be two weeks, a month or a year. We’re finding that’s something more travellers want and we can build a nice client base for those who want longer stays.

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

The Classic Noguchi Lamp as You’ve Never Seen It

For decades, minimalists have snapped up the Japanese-American artist’s off-white paper lanterns. These lesser-known versions feature decorative dabs of colour.