Surely many of you will know emblematic pieces of this artist and designer Japanese American, such as his Coffee table or its arch-famous Akari paper lamps, widely reproduced and copied throughout the latter half of the 20th century.

Noguchi was more recognized in the artistic field than in industrial design. Above all, he was a sculptor, and thus he conceived his furniture pieces, not so much as functional designs intended for domestic use, but as sculptures in themselves.

Isamu Noguchi: a prolific artist

In fact, Isamu Noguchi was one of the most important and acclaimed sculptors of the 20th century. But he was also very prolific and delved into many other areas. Throughout a lifetime of artistic experimentation, he created sculptures, gardens, furniture and lighting designs, ceramics, architecture, landscapes and stage sets. He even changing rooms for the avant-garde ballets of Martha Graham. Her work, at once subtle and bold, traditional and modern, marked a new milestone in the reintegration of the arts.

Isamu Noguchi was born in Los Angeles in 1904; his father was the Japanese poet Yone Noguchi and his mother, the American writer Leonie Gilmour. Hence his Art and his deep knowledge of Japanese art. “My father was long known for his poetry that bridged the gap between East and West. I want to do the same through sculpture,” he said.

Noguchi was a tireless traveler, always in search of inspiration, techniques or materials to work with. He discovered the impact of large-scale public works in Mexico, earthy ceramics and tranquil gardens in Japan, the subtle ink brush techniques in China and the purity of marble in Italy. He incorporated all of these impressions into his work, in which he used a wide range of materials, such as stainless steel, marble, cast iron, balsa wood, bronze, aluminum sheet, basalt, granite and water.

As a sculptor, Noguchi's interests were not limited to materials and forms; he was also fascinated by spatial effects and interior design. Noguchi wanted his art to have both a practical and social function, and his sculptural style had a far-reaching influence on the organic design language of the 1950s.

Isamu Noguchi applied the aesthetics biomorphic of his sculptures on this table of organic shapes. Perhaps that is why Noguchi considered this piece as his best furniture design. It is made up of two pieces of wood black ash, maple or walnut, placed at right angles, offering stable support to the thick, sturdy glass top.

“I started from an idea I had already worked on regarding a continuous wooden loop and I cut it in two so that, turned in the centre, it could be used to hold a glass top and thus make a table.”

With a purely geometric design, the Prismatic Table is inspired by traditional Japanese techniques of origami or paper folding. This side table consists of three elements of folded aluminum sheet with a high-quality powder-coated finish. Together, they form a three-legged table with a hexagonal top.

Isamu Noguchi designed the Prismatic Tables in different color combinations so that when grouped together they would form kaleidoscopic patterns. It is now produced in three versions, with the three pieces featuring different combinations of subdued grey tones.

In 1951, Isamu Noguchi visited the city of Gifu (Japan), known for its manufacture of lanterns and umbrellas using mulberry bark paper and bamboo. From this trip, Noguchi designed the first of his lamps to be made using the traditional methods construction of Gifu. He called these works Akari, a term that means light as illumination, but also implies the idea of ​​weightlessness.

The manufacture of Akari in Japan at Ozeki & Co. since 1951 follows the traditional methods of the Gifu Japanese lanterns. Each Akari is made by hand, starting with the manufacturing of washi paper from the inner bark of the mulberry tree. Bamboo strips are stretched over sculptural moulded wooden forms. Washi paper is cut into strips and glued to both sides of the structure. Once the glue has dried and the form has set, the inner wooden form is disassembled and removed. The result is a sturdy paper form, which can be fold and pack flat for transportation.

With the warm glow of light projected through handmade paper on a bamboo frame, Isamu Noguchi used traditional Japanese materials to bring modern design into the home. Like the beauty of falling leaves and cherry blossom, Noguchi wrote, Akari are "poetic, ephemeral and tentative." And he liked to say: “All you need to start a house is a room, a tatami and Akari.”

Isamu Noguchi died at the age of 84 in New York, still working and maintaining two studios, both in New York and Japan. His prolific work is excellently well catalogued and grouped in his Long Island Museum (NY), where you can delve deeper into the study of this great artist, and even acquire some of his Akari lamps. Vitra also publishes these three collector's pieces.

Photos: Noguchi Museum