Isamu Noguchi Exhibitions Highlight Playful Designs and Lasting Influence
Two museum exhibitions in the United States are offering an expanded view of Isamu Noguchi’s work, focusing on his experiments with play, performance and architecture in addition to his well known lighting and furniture.
From April 10, the exhibition “Isamu Noguchi: ‘I am not a designer’” at Atlanta’s High Museum of Art explores how the artist blurred the lines between sculpture and function. Alongside his Akari light sculptures, the show presents models and plans for playgrounds, a rarely seen stage set created for choreographer Martha Graham and a house design developed with architect Kazumi Adachi.
A concurrent exhibition at Noguchi’s namesake museum in Queens examines additional facets of his legacy, including his interest in public spaces, landscape and industrial design. Together, the two shows position Noguchi as a cultural figure whose work extended beyond collectible objects to encompass environments intended for everyday use.
Designers are also revisiting the historic Dutch delft tradition, applying its blue and white motifs to contemporary tableware, vases and furniture. New pieces draw on the pattern’s familiarity while adapting it to streamlined forms and modern interiors.