SINGAPORE — When Japanese designer Sori Yanagi passed away on Dec 25, 2011, one of the industry’s most influential names, English furniture designer Jasper Morrison, wrote a tribute and described him as “the best designer you’ve never heard of”.

And it’s probably true that people know Yanagi’s poetic and fluid creations — specifically his 1956 Butterfly Stool that is displayed in New York’s Museum of Modern Art — more than the name of the man behind them.

But that may soon change with a travelling exhibition of his work, which is currently on display at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts’ Lim Hak Tai Gallery.

Titled Beauty Born, Not Made, which refers to the designer’s belief that a product is “born” only when it’s perfected, the showcase has been three years in the making, said Shinichi Yanagi, the late designer’s son and chief executive officer of Yanagi Industrial Design Office.

Initially, he had been approached to hold an exhibition here back in 2012 by Singapore-based Japanese designer Yoichi Nakamuta. But the company had been busy working on the Sori Yanagi Design Memorial, a design education centre in Kanazawa. It had also been working on an English translation of the designer’s essays. Eventually, it decided to jointly launch the book and the exhibition, which will also travel to Taiwan and Hong Kong.

The project is also personally significant to Shinichi, who explained that he wanted to do something to help spread his father’s legacy, although he admitted he was surprised by the amount of interest once the exhibition was confirmed.

The Singapore exhibition was curated by local design firm Outofstock, but Shinichi was involved with certain personal aspects, such as the selection of music his father worked to (Tibetan chanting) and deciding the best areas to display the items, in particular, the textiles his father had designed — Sori made only four in his entire career, three of which made it into the exhibition.

Those familiar with Yanagi’s works will be glad to see an extensive selection of everyday items such as kitchenware as well as the first prototype of the 1964 Olympic torch-holder he designed. As Sori was also the son of the founder of the mingei (folk craft) movement in Japan in the 1920s, Soetsu Yanagi, there are also posters and items dedicated to mingei and the “anonymous designer” championed by both Yanagis.

A selection of Sori Yanagi’s products are also currently on sale at Kapok at the National Design Centre.

Beauty Born, Not Made: Sori Yanagi runs until May 17 at Lim Tak Hai Gallery, NAFA Campus 1. Free admission.