Early artistic influences

Noguchi grew up in the United States and Japan. On moving to New York in the 1920s he first came into contact with Western avant-garde art. In 1927, he spent six months in Paris on a Guggenheim scholarship, working in Constantin Brancusi's studio, a stay which decisively shaped his artistic training. Of equal importance for his later career was his training under masters of traditional Asian painting and pottery during a trip to China and Japan in1930-1. On returning to New York, this traveler between East and West became acquainted with Martha Graham - a meeting which resulted in a highly fruitful process of artistic collaboration. Up until the 1960s, Noguchi designed 21 stage sets for this outstanding representative of modern dance. They were generally very reduced, yet full of tension, such as the sets for Herodiade (1944), or Judith (1950), both of which can be seen in the exhibition. During the 1940s and 1950s, Noguchi created his most famous furniture designs, the Coffee Table with its sculptural look, and the ingenious Chess Table (1944), both for Herman Miller, as well as the refined Rocking Stool for Knoll International.

Paper and bamboo: new forms and traditional manufacturing techniques

During his stay in Japan in 1951, Noguchi developed a strong enthusiasm for Asian lamps made of paper and bamboo. He combined traditional manufacturing techniques with new shapes, replaced the candles with electric bulbs, and thus created the first akaris - light sculptures for daily use. Noguchi's sculptures often encourage a practical use: There is the Garden Seat (1963) made of basalt and granite, or the Water Table (1968), whose hollows not only collect water, but would serve just as well as a bird bath. As for the Slide Mantra, an organically shaped sculpture fashioned in white marble, with which he represented the United States at the 1986 Venice Biennial, it is also ideally suited for children to play on.

Art projects in public spaces

For his art projects in public spaces, Noguchi often collaborated with famous architects. In 1951, for instance, at the suggestion of Kenzo Tange, he designed the railings for two bridges located in the Hiroshima Peace Park. In the United States, he cooperated for years with Gordon Bunshaft from Skidmore, Owings & Merrill architect's office, with whom, for example, he made the Sunken Garden for Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library (1960-4). During the 1970s and 1980s, the dimensions of such commissions increased. Sadly, it was not possible until after Noguchi's death to begin work on his last and largest project, the 162-hectare Moere Numa Park in Sapporo (1988-2004).

The exhibition at the Vitra Design Museum

The exhibition by the Vitra Design Museum in collaboration with the Isamu Noguchi Foundation, New York, run from December 8 through to April 21, 2002 in Weil am Rhein. A richly-illustrated, roughly 300 page catalog available in German and English accompanies the exhibition. It features an article by Bruce Altshuler on Noguchi's interiors and furniture; Anna C. Chave explores his relationship to Brancusi; Ingrid Schaffner and Donna Ghelerter illuminate his affiliations with the New York art world, II Kim addresses the artist's landscape designs, while Bert Winther-Tamaki examines Japanese and American influences in Noguchi's work. A personal retrospective by Shoji Sadao, who worked with Noguchi for many years, an homage by his close friend R. Buckminster Fuller (1960), as well as a yet unpublished article by the artist himself, supply further interesting insights into the life and work of this extraordinary man.