Isamu Noguchi:
Sculptural Design
The major exhibition at the Design Museum this
season is the first UK retrospective of the life and work of Isamu Noguchi
(1904-1988), the internationally acclaimed sculptor, stage designer, landscape
architect and furniture designer.
Born in Los Angeles to a Japanese father and
American mother, Isamu Noguchi fused Western modernist thinking with the
naturalism of traditional Japanese craftsmanship. He saw himself as an
interpreter of the East to the West and worked on major designs and architecture
commissions all over the world.
Akari lights
Isamu Noguchi is perhaps best known for the Akari
mulberry-paper light sculptures he invented for the Japanese City of Gifu.
Isamu Noguchi IN-50 Coffee Table, 1944
However he is also renowned for the furniture he designed
for the American manufacturers, Herman Miller and Knoll, and for his stage
designs for the choreographers, Merce Cunningham and Martha Graham.
Stage set for Martha Graham, 'Night
Play', 1947
As a landscape architect, Noguchi created the gardens at
Keio University in Tokyo and at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris.
Combining major pieces from Isamu Noguchi’s
personal collection with theatre designer Robert Wilson’s series of sets,
which incorporate volcanic sand, stepping stones, broken glass and a haystack,
this retrospective paints a beguiling picture of the achievements of an
outstanding figure in mid-20th century design, sculpture and
architecture.
Isamu Noguchi: Sculptural Design
20th July – 18th November 2001
Admission: £5.50
Location: Design Museum
28 Shad Thames
London SE1 2YD
Open: Daily
10am-5.45pm
Web: www.designmuseum.org.
To hire a Isamu Noguchi coffee table, contact