Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988) was one of the most experimental artists of the 20th century, a pioneering sculptor and designer born in the United States, he travelled extensively throughout his life. As a politically engaged artist, Noguchi used his interdisciplinary and intercultural approach to expand the understanding of sculpture.
Inspired by past and contemporary cultures, Japanese gardens, astronomic observatories in India, and surrealism, his body of work is marked by a search for the connection between art and life and a will to design spaces for society.
Over ten sections, this comprehensive exhibition explores his radically varied œuvre, that includes stage sets, light objects, furniture, public gardens and playgrounds. It highlights the different phases of Noguchi’s career from his earliest figurative works of the 1920s to his ultimate sculptures which combine smooth perfect surfaces with roughly carved stone, as well as the lasting influence of Constantin Brâncuşi with whom he became proficient in the use of different tools, and learning what a sculpture can do in space.
IIsamu Noguchi, My Mu, 1950
