Isamu Noguchi

17 November 1904 – 30 December 1988

Isamu Noguchi was a Japanese-American artist and landscape architect renowned for his sculpture, public gardens, furniture, and stage sets. Blending Eastern and Western traditions, he created influential works ranging from carved stone sculptures to the iconic Akari light sculptures and the Noguchi table.

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Life events

Born in Los Angeles, California
17 November 1904

Son of Japanese poet Yone Noguchi and American writer Leonie Gilmour.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Apprenticed with sculptor Constantin Brancusi in Paris
1927 – 1928

Worked as a studio assistant to Brancusi after receiving a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Began collaboration with choreographer Martha Graham
1935

Designed numerous innovative stage sets for the Martha Graham Dance Company.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Voluntarily entered a Japanese-American internment camp
1942

Interned himself at Poston, Arizona, hoping to improve conditions, during World War II.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Designed the Noguchi table for Herman Miller
1947

Created the influential glass-and-wood coffee table that became a modernist icon.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Began designing the Akari light sculptures
1951

Developed his celebrated series of paper-and-bamboo illuminated sculptures in Gifu, Japan.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Created major public gardens and plazas
1958

Designed landscapes and gardens including those for UNESCO in Paris and the Beinecke Library at Yale.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Opened the Noguchi Museum in Long Island City
1985

Established a museum in Queens, New York, to house and display his work.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Died in New York City
30 December 1988

Died of heart failure at the age of 84.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓