The Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an installation of sculptures by Isamu Noguchi on view now through Summer 2011.
The debut installation in the Museum’s new Anne d’Harnoncourt Sculpture Garden—Isamu Noguchi at the Philadelphia Museum of Art—presents a fascinating selection of sculptures by Isamu Noguchi (American, 1904–1988), who had long-standing ties with the Museum and its late director Anne d’Harnoncourt. The son of Japanese poet Yonejiro (Yone) Noguchi and American writer Leonie Gilmour, Isamu Noguchi forged a powerful aesthetic vision that reflected the richness of his dual heritage. His earliest sculptures were made under the tutelage of Constantin Brancusi in the 1920s in France. In addition to stone, Noguchi worked in clay, paper, wood, and bronze; he was celebrated as a designer of rock garden landscapes, Akari lanterns, furniture, and stage sets.
In the mid-1960s, Noguchi recognized his preference for stone above all other materials. At the end of the decade he established a studio on the Japanese island of Shikoku, where he carved the large granite and basalt sculptures that culminated his career. Most of these late sculptures—including the four featured in this installation—have large areas of unworked surface, embodying Noguchi’s philosophy that sculpting should follow the potential and characteristics of the material used.
Isamu Noguchi at the Philadelphia Museum of Art is the result of a collaboration with The Noguchi Museum in Long Island City, New York.
Curators
Carlos Basualdo • The Keith L. and Katherine Sachs Curator of Contemporary Art
Adelina Vlas • Assistant Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art
Image: Isamu Noguchi American, 1904–1988 Dance 1982 Manazuru stone The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum
www.philamuseum.org