Isamu Noguchi

Isamu Noguchi – Formative years of learning with Constantin Brâncuși

Isamu Noguchi was born in Los Angeles on 17 November 1904. The son of the important Japanese poet Noguchi Yonejirō and the American author Leonie Gilmour, Isamu spent his youth in Japan, but went to study art in the USA, initially at Columbia University. He also attended the Leonardo da Vinci Art School, founded his first own studio in 1927, and that same year received the coveted Guggenheim Fellowship. He had applied for this with reference to his father, whose poetry was considered a mediation of the East for the West, and Isamu intended his sculpture to have a similar effect. The two-year fellowship allowed him an extended stay in Paris where he gained much valuable experience as an assistant to the Romanian-French sculptor Constantin Brâncuși. In retrospect, the grateful Noguchi confessed to having learnt respect for the material and the proper use of tools from Brâncuși. 

Wanderer and bridge-builder between East and West

When his scholarship expired in 1929, Isamu Noguchi returned to New York and was able to open his first solo exhibition that same year at the Eugene Schoen Gallery in New York. Probably as a result of his apprenticeship with Constantin Brâncuși, Noguchi developed a strong preference for absolute forms, which was clearly reflected in his work. His understanding of sculpture anticipated later aspects of Land Art by attributing comprehensive importance to the space, with numerous public squares and gardens bearing impressive witness. As a child of divorce, Isamu Noguchi, the great bridge builder, long felt greatly torn between two cultures – a dilemma he could only resolve in art. In his diverse works, he ceaselessly brought the two worlds from which he came, closer together. The wish for reconciliation and understanding drove him on and led him to travel. He not only visited various stations in Europe and gathered important inspiration, but also ended up owning studios in both home countries, commuting constantly between Japan and the USA for many years – a circumstance that is clearly noticeable in his art and contributes much to its fascinating uniqueness. 

Paper lamps as trademark and million-seller

Isamu Noguchi did not limit himself as a world-travelled global citizen to sculpture, but also set benchmarks as a designer: He caused great enthusiasm with his Akari lamps made of shoji paper, which he saw almost as cult objects and an artistic reconciliation of nature and technology. Every year for 35 years he designed a new paper lamp. Originally inspired by the boat lanterns of Japanese fishermen, Isamu Noguchi’s unmistakeable lamps delighted an audience of millions. He also worked successfully as a stage designer, for example for the choreographer Martha Graham. Isamu Noguchi received prizes and awards for his art, including the prestigious Kyoto Prize in 1986 and the National Medal of Arts in 1987. He took part twice in Documenta in Kassel, and also represented the USA at the Venice Biennale in 1986. 

Isamu Noguchi died in New York on 30 December 1988.