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Nearing the end of his apprenticeship, Gutzon Borglum rubbed even
more salt in Noguchi’s wounds by
telling him that he would never be
a sculptor. Borglum’s eyesight might
however been failing by this time as
Noguchi’s new tutor, Onorio Ruotolo
immediately spotted his savant-like
prodigy.
In 1926 Noguchi saw a New York exhibition of the work of Constantin
Brancusi that greatly changed his artistic direction. With the prestigious
John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship
under his belt, Noguchi went to Paris and from 1927 to 1929 worked in
Brancusi’s studio. Inspired by his
mentor’s reductive forms, Noguchi
turned to modernism and a form of
abstraction – infusing his highly finished pieces with a poetic and whimsical expressiveness that add an aura
of mystery to his work.
Throughout the 40’s Noguchi’s
designs made quite a splash and
around this time the American furniture magnate, Herman Miller, struck
up a long-lasting – and very lucrative
– relationship with the sculptor.
The Isamu Noguchi Coffee Table by Vitra
This partnership resulted in many mass
produced furniture pieces that became
symbols of the modernist style. Both the
Noguchi Table and his designs for Akari
Light Sculptures, which was developed
in 1951, using traditional Japanese materials – are still being produced today.
And it’s for that reason that Isamu Noguchi is our designer of the month.
Akari UF1-H Table Lamp
Answers to Page 7: 1st pic: C) £13,331 Fauteil II Chair 2nd pic: B) £23,651,145 The Badminton Cabinet 3rd pic: A) £4,267 The Maserati Lounge Chair 4th pic: C) £47,911 Michael Jackson’s Sofa
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