Isamu Noguchi

Isamu Noguchi (野口 勇, Noguchi Isamu) was an American artist, furniture designer, and landscape architect whose career lasted for six decades, from the 1920s until his passing in 1988. He was born on November 17, 1904, and died on December 30, 1988.

Noguchi is best known for his sculptures and public artworks. He also created special designs for stage sets used in shows by the famous dancer Martha Graham. In addition to his artwork, he made beautiful light sculptures called Akari light sculptures and unique furniture pieces. Many of his furniture designs are still made and sold today.

You can see examples of Noguchi's work at the Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum in New York City, as well as in many other museums around the world. His creations continue to be enjoyed by people everywhere.

Early life (1904–1922)

Isamu Noguchi was born in Los Angeles to Yone Noguchi, a famous Japanese poet, and Léonie Gilmour, an American writer. After Yone left for Japan and planned to marry someone else, Léonie and Isamu moved to Japan in 1907 due to rising unfriendly feelings toward Japanese people after a war.

In Japan, Isamu grew up with his mother, often moving around. His mother encouraged his creativity by letting him help design their garden and learn from a local carpenter. Later, Isamu returned to the U.S. to finish school in Rolling Prairie, Indiana, and then moved to LaPorte, where he graduated from high school in 1922. During this time, he was known as "Sam Gilmour."

Early artistic career (1922–1927)

After high school, Isamu Noguchi decided he wanted to become an artist. His family sent him to Connecticut to work with a famous sculptor named Gutzon Borglum, who created Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Noguchi helped with arranging horses and modeling for statues, but realized sculpture might not be the right path.

He then went to New York City and started studying to become a doctor at Columbia University. However, he met new people who encouraged him to keep pursuing art. In 1924, he began taking art classes at night and soon held his first exhibition of plaster and terracotta works. He decided to focus fully on art and changed his last name to Noguchi.

Later, Noguchi applied for a special grant to study in Paris and travel through Asia. Even though he was a bit younger than usual, he received the grant and planned exciting adventures ahead.

Early travels (1927–1937)

In April 1927, Isamu Noguchi arrived in Paris and met author Robert McAlmon, who introduced him to artist Constantin Brâncuși. Despite language differences, Brâncuși let Noguchi work in his studio for seven months. During this time, Noguchi began learning about stone sculpture, a new medium for him.

Noguchi created only one sculpture in his first year in Paris but made many more during his second year, working with Italian sculptor Mateo Hernandes. He then traveled to India but was denied an extension of his Guggenheim Fellowship. In February 1929, he went to New York City, where he met Buckminster Fuller and worked on projects like modeling Fuller’s Dymaxion car.

After showing his Paris sculptures in his first solo exhibition, Noguchi shifted to creating portrait busts to earn money. His busts of famous people, including Martha Graham, received good reviews, and he earned enough to travel to Asia. He studied painting in China and pottery in Japan, taking inspiration from local gardens and ancient clay figures. Returning to New York during the Great Depression, Noguchi continued creating sculptures and paintings but found few buyers. He also designed sets for Martha Graham’s performances and worked on public art projects, though many were not accepted at the time. Later, he traveled to Mexico, where he created a large political mural in Mexico City. During this time, he met the famous artist Frida Kahlo and became friends with her.

Further career in the United States (1937–1948)

Noguchi returned to New York in 1937 and began creating many new designs. He made the Zenith Radio Nurse, an early baby monitor that is now kept in museums. He also designed sculptures, including a fountain for the Ford Motor Company at the 1939 New York World's Fair and a large stainless steel sculpture for the Associated Press building at the Rockefeller Center.

During World War II, Noguchi worked with others to support Japanese Americans who were unfairly treated. He traveled to a camp in Poston, Arizona to help improve living conditions, though it was difficult. Later, he returned to New York and continued making art, influenced by the surrealist movement. He created famous furniture, like the Noguchi table, and designed sets for theater performances. His work became well-known in the New York art world.

Bollingen Fellowship and life in Japan (1948–1952)

After the death of his artist friend Arshile Gorky in 1948, Isamu Noguchi applied for a Bollingen Fellowship to travel the world and study public spaces. This idea was meant for a book about leisure environments, but it only became a traveling exhibition and special book much later, thanks to his assistant and curator Bonnie Rychlak.

While staying in Japan after the war, Noguchi was photographed in Nagoya by Kansuke Yamamoto. His picture appeared in the Shintōkai Shimbun newspaper on July 15, 1950.

In 1951, Noguchi went to Gifu, a town known for making traditional paper lanterns. The mayor asked him to help update these lanterns, which were becoming old-fashioned because of electricity. Noguchi redesigned them to use light bulbs instead of candles and made their shapes more artistic with wire. He called these new lights "Akari light sculptures" and said the light they gave off was like sunlight shining through paper shoji. Noguchi once said, “All you need to start a home are a room, a tatami mat, and an Akari,” inspired by writer Jun'ichirō Tanizaki’s book In Praise of Shadows.

Later years (1952–1988)

In his later years, Isamu Noguchi became even more famous. He placed his large artworks in many important cities around the world.

He was married to Yoshiko Yamaguchi, a famous singer and actress, from 1952 to 1957. From 1959 until he passed away, he had a close friendship with Priscilla Morgan, who helped protect his work after he was gone.

Noguchi created designs for a well-known play called King Lear in 1955. He was honored by groups such as the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1962 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1971. In 1986, he showed his Akari light sculptures at the Venice Biennale for the United States. The following year, he received the National Medal of Arts.

Noguchi passed away from pneumonia in 1988 at the age of 84. The New York Times praised him as a talented artist whose work connected Eastern and Western styles.

Notable works

Isamu Noguchi created many famous artworks and designs throughout his life. Some of his well-known pieces include sculptures, furniture, and gardens placed in cities around the world. His works can be found in places like Honolulu, New York City, Paris, and many other locations.

His last project was a large park design in Sapporo, Japan. Although he passed away before it was finished, the park opened to the public in 2005.

Honors

Isamu Noguchi was recognized for his amazing work. In 1982, he received the Edward MacDowell Medal for his big contributions to art. In 1987, he was given the National Medal of Arts. Then in 1988, the Japanese government awarded him the Order of the Sacred Treasure.

Many years later, in 2004, the US Postal Service made a special stamp to honor Noguchi.

Legacy

The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum is dedicated to keeping and showing the work of Isamu Noguchi. It receives support from many public and private groups.

Several exhibitions of Noguchi’s work have taken place around the world. In 1994, the Fundación Juan March in Madrid held the first big show of his work in Spain. In 2016–2017, the Smithsonian American Art Museum displayed a collection of his pieces from over six decades. In 2025, the Clark Art Institute will show his work in an exhibition called Isamu Noguchi: Landscapes of Time. Starting in February 2026, the Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum will explore Noguchi’s love for New York City in an exhibition called Noguchi’s New York. Later in 2026, from April to August, the High Museum of Art will present Isamu Noguchi: “I am not a designer”, featuring many of his designs for the first time in many years.