Isamu Noguchi's Original Tools Take Center Stage In New Exhibition
Held at the Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum, ‘Isamu Noguchi TOOLS’ uses the artist’s actual tools to show the evolution of his artistic process.
Isamu Noguchi’s elegant stone sculptures, sleek furniture and hauntingly beautiful Akari paper lanterns are known the world over, but now a new exhibition at the Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum is spotlighting a less-explored part of the Noguchi story: the tools that he used to create his designs and works of art. Isamu Noguchi TOOLS tells the story of Noguchi’s unique approach to tools and how he used them to craft his most memorable works.
50 different tools on loan from the Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum in New York City are displayed across Isamu Noguchi TOOLS, and spotlight his woodworking and stoneworking efforts as well as the tools he used for pottery and light sculptures, all divided into individual sections to encapsulate the depth and breadth of his work.
Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum
Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum
Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum
Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum
Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum
Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum
Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum
Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum
Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum
Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum
Besides the tools themselves, the exhibition consists of some of Noguchi’s creations, from small sculptures to lamps and drawings to photographs of his studio and a short documentary about his life and work. These inclusions spotlight the relationship between materials and techniques in Noguchi’s practice, and work with the tools themselves to tell the story of his creative vision and how it blended with his craftsmanship.
Isamu Noguchi TOOLS is on display now, and will run until May 7. The Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum is located in Kobe, Japan, at 7 Chome-5-1 Kumochicho, Chuo Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-0056.
Elsewhere in Noguchi news, the Noguchi Museum Shop is set to release rare Akari light sculptures, some of which haven’t been brought to market in decades.
