The furniture exhibition Geoffrey Bawa Exhibition – Furniture of Tropical Modernism is currently on view at Vague Archives in Kobe,  Japan, in partnership with 51% and CASA DE. Re-edited by the Bangalore-based furniture company Phantom Hands, the exhibition presents a selection of pieces originally shown in Design in the Moment, held at the Geoffrey Bawa Space in Colombo between December 2024 and May 2025.

To mark the opening, a conversation was held with Channa Daswatte, Chairperson of the Geoffrey Bawa Trust, alongside Deepak Srinath and Aparna Rao, founders of Phantom Hands, who reflected on Geoffrey Bawa’s life and the ongoing furniture reproduction project. Alongside the exhibition at Vague Archives, visitors can also encounter selected re-editions installed throughout the Vague Kobe space itself, offering an opportunity to engage closely with the materiality, scale, and tactile qualities of the furniture. Pieces on show include some of Bawa’s most iconic pieces, including the Kandalama and Next-door Cafe chairs, and the De Saram Log Bench.

Often unsolicited by clients, Bawa designed furniture he thought fit for the spaces and which met the material and budget restrictions of the time. Taking inspiration from prevalent Scandinavian styles and global designers, Bawa and his associates worked with local metalworkers, woodworkers and even fibreglass boat builders, incorporating handmade fabrics designed and made by Ena de Silva and Barbara Sansoni. Each project had its own designs or, if previous designs were used, they were in combination with others specifically made for that project. They got their meaning and life from being part of a collection and context, not as an individual element.

Bawa and his colleagues deviated from the formal, rigorous practice of making furniture, largely driven by form, function and manufacturability. Instead, they responded with urgency, where time frames for completion were small and transcending external constraints, sometimes in a subversive way, was the driving—nearly liberating—force.

The exhibition is a collaboration between Vague Archives and the galleries 51% and CASA DE, and is on view at Vague Archives in Kobe City from May 2–11, 2026.