Like a lot of New Yorkers, I was one of those bitten by some kind of an idealism … New Yorkers after all felt a special relationship to the world. They were on this island looking out on the whole damn world, which they had to do something about. My way was not the way of words, but the way of doing things, making something which might sort of approach that which one felt the world could be. Little spots here and there, so that instead of going to the moon, you bring the moon to you.

(Isamu Noguchi, 1980)

In 1922, Isamu Noguchi first moved to New York—a city that would remain his on-again, off-again home for the remainder of his life. Though he was an avid traveler who built meaningful connections and temporary homes around the world, Noguchi always returned to New York. It was here that he created some of his most iconic artworks and imagined countless others.

This exhibition examines Noguchi’s deep and dynamic relationship with New York City, exploring how its material, cultural, social, and political landscape indelibly transformed his artwork and thinking, and how he in turn transformed the city. It also highlights Noguchi’s unflagging attempts to give back by sculpting communal spaces for exploration and play—efforts often thwarted, most notably by the influential NYC Parks Commissioner Robert Moses.

Noguchi’s New York encompasses more than 50 works, including sculptures, project models, photographs, and archival materials. The exhibition also brings to life Noguchi’s visions for unrealized playgrounds and playground equipment through a series of hand-painted animated films by Jack Cunningham and Nicolas Ménard of Eastend Western. 

Organized on the 40th anniversary of The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, this exhibition celebrates the Museum itself as one of Noguchi’s most profound gifts to this city he called home.

For more information please visit the Noguchi Museum website.

Tagged 03/03/26.