MURAO is a brand founded on a simple and pure idea:
“to make what we want.”
Based in Totsukawa Village, Nara, MURAO is shaped by the distinctive creative sensibility of designer and woodworker Mamoru Murao.
Created from solid pieces of wood, each with its own unique character, his works combine simple, graphic forms with the rich and natural expressions inherent in the material.
The result is a distinctive presence—
objects that feel sculptural, yet somehow settle naturally into everyday life.
They seem to exist somewhere between sculpture and functional objects, carrying the qualities of both.
For this exhibition, alongside MURAO’s signature stools and objects, we will also present furniture pieces including chairs and sofas.
The forms of the stools and objects for which MURAO is now widely known are deeply rooted in the ideas and sensibilities developed through years of making furniture—chairs, sofas, and other pieces created for everyday use.
By tracing the evolution of these forms from furniture making to the present, the exhibition reveals how works that may initially appear to be art pieces can exist within our lives as objects for everyday living.
Through the exhibition space as a whole, visitors are invited to experience this relationship between sculptural form and daily function.
Moving freely across the boundary between furniture and object,
this exhibition traces the evolution of MURAO’s forms and distinctive world, interpreted through Ousia’s perspective on everyday living.