It is always a rare and special opportunity to see a collection that has been assembled over many decades by an artist; a collection that often serves as an important source of inspiration to their own art. No Detail is Small is one such collection, created by one of the most accomplished and visionary Art Directors of our generation. This collection tells the profoundly personal story of Tamotsu Yagi’s parallel journeys as both a ‘collector’ and ‘creator’, embodying the principles of good design that Yagi has championed throughout his career. In Yagi's own words, "Design should be equipped with social relevance, in addition to beauty and functionality."

Born in 1949 in Kobe, Japan, Yagi worked for seventeen years for a multidisciplinary design firm in Tokyo. In 1984, he moved to California and was personally hired by Douglas Tompkins, the co-founder of the San Francisco-based apparel company ESPRIT. As Art Director at ESPRIT, Yagi had the opportunity to lead and collaborate on all aspects of the brand’s identity including advertising, packaging and retail design. Collaborators included members of the Memphis Design Movement, notably Ettore Sottsass, Shiro Kuramata and Aldo Cibic. The development of the iconic ‘ESPRIT Graphic Look’ under Yagi’s direction was internationally celebrated and led ESPRIT to being named the first Westcoast company to receive the AIGA Leadership Award. Soon thereafter Yagi became one of the youngest inductees to the prestigious Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI).It was at this early stage in Yagi's career that Steve Jobs became aware of his work, frequenting the ESPRIT campus and being profoundly inspired by Yagi's design principles. In 1991, he founded Tamotsu Yagi Design in San Francisco with an eclectic international clientele. Some of his notable commissions included signage system and design for Yoshio Taniguchi and Kengo Kuma; logo design for Foundation Beyeler designed by Renzo Piano; product design for United Colors of Benetton; and design consulting for Pixar.

In 2000 Yagi received a direct commission from Steve Jobs that would define the design concepts that served as the genesis for the company's future retail stores. His graphic and industrial design works are held in the permanent collection of SFMOMA, and he is currently working as Art Director for the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan.

No Detail is Small is the ethos of a visionary who has always pushed boundaries – from his legendary work at ESPRIT, to his collaboration with Steve Jobs, to the soulful collection of art and design presented here. Yagi’s visionary thinking and acute sense of detail is at the heart of every piece in this group thoughtfully acquired over the last three decades, from the gestural expressions seen in the masterpieces by Cy Twombly, to the boldly graphic vocabulary seen in the modernist works by Prouvé and Perriand. No Detail is Small – a mantra central to Yagi’s own work – celebrates the unique legacy of each artist presented here.

When I was 35, I moved from Tokyo to San Francisco with my family of four to work at ESPRIT. It was my family's first time living abroad and also the beginning of many new experiences for me in terms of life, art and design. I still have fond memories of working with great artists throughout the 1980s, such as Olivero Toscani and Roberto Cara, the two photographers at ESPRIT, as well as Ettore Sottsass, Antonio Citterio, and Shiro Kuramata. No Detail is Small was a motto and a sign that hung in ESPRIT's Graphic Department placed by Douglas Tompkins, the owner of ESPRIT. As part of the design process, we had many conversations pertaining to the notion of what a detail is—how to refine it and how best to commit to it—, which is what mattered most to us. All the artists and designers represented in the collection speak to the idea in various ways

Having always incorporated handwork into my practice, I was very interested in Cy Twombly's work, which was drawn freely and spontaneously in a completely different style. My interest in his artistic language led me to start collecting his pieces. Similarly, Richard Long’s ideas and recurrent references to nature as a motif spoke to my own design principles, specifically the belief that "good design is in the nature of things." Nature is the ultimate representation of creativity and beauty. I am particularly fond of Richard Long’s clever use of nature as expressed throughout his art by means of time, encounter and interaction; nature becomes a part of his canvas. This is a unique approach to which I identify on many levels, and I truly think he is a conceptual genius. I realized that perhaps subconsciously, many of my designs have been inspired by the shapes, patterns, textures and colors from the natural world that have fascinated me since childhood. I grew up playing in a massive and lush park near my home in Kobe where I climbed trees and caught bugs. Some of Prouvé’s pieces, such as the “Dr. Vichard” and “Aéronautique” tables, remind me of the legs of beetles and stick bugs I used to catch there.

My love for Jean Prouvé started on a work trip to Paris in the late 1980s. In the window of a Saint-Germain-des-Prés gallery, I saw one of his bookcases and immediately fell in love. The piece had a mysterious charm; its surfaces showed the passage of time and the patina had beautiful age to it. I started collecting Prouvé’s furniture and surrounded myself with it. What I love about Prouvé and Charlotte Perriand's pieces are the timelessness of their designs, which are adaptable to almost any environment. The juxtaposition of incredibly playful and warm colors with the industrial approach to their craft is particularly successful in my opinion. Most importantly, I am particularly drawn to the signs of age seen throughout the pieces—the scratches, dents, worn patinas. Whether it's a vintage car or piece of furniture, there is something to be said about the imperfections of time and wear that bring life and soul to the pieces. This is precisely why I have used every piece that I have owned. As the custodian of these pieces, I have contributed to their story, as have the many people before me that have had the chance to use them. Now, this is my opportunity to allow others to enjoy them as well, and to pass them onto the next generation.

The concept of time passing is crucial to my collecting approach, and On Kawara is a perfect example. He consistently documented his place in time through simple daily moments, as seen in “I Got Up”, and somehow found a way to brilliantly express this idea. It is one thing to do it once, but to consistently do it over years constitutes the genius of his art, not to mention the sophisticated typographic aesthetic that he developed to express it. Just simple and brilliant. This very much echoes Tatsuo Miyajima’s practice as well, and approach to the passing of time. Other creators represented in the collection have unique ways of seeing and creating that are equally as inspiring to me. Mauro Giaconi’s work is like a collage—an assemblage, if you will. His practice is similar to Design in the sense that colors, textures and shapes are combined in a proportional way. The designs of Shiro Kuramata, on the other hand, are simply otherworldly and directly inspired by nightly visions that he would write down and then manifest into reality. This represents to me a very unique creative process. Many of his works seem to be floating as if they were in a dream. 

All of these creators have something in common that draws me to them: they combine a unique concept with distinct execution. And to have one without the other would not make them appealing to me. In my opinion, this is the very definition of sophistication and makes them all the more exceptional. As a naturally creative person and a designer, being surrounded by art and design that I find beautiful not only gives me energy to create— it brings me harmony, joy and peace.

– Tamotsu Yagi