Isamu Noguchi: Metal the Mirror
“Here is where finally opposites come together, I see a surprising purity. Stone is the depth, metal the mirror. They do not conflict…” —Isamu Noguchi
While the renowned sculptor Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988) is best known for his work in stone, he consistently explored new materials and methods during his wide-ranging career. He first experimented with aluminum in the 1950s and later with galvanized steel, creating a series of twenty-six sculptures in collaboration with Gemini G.E.L. in Los Angeles in 1982–83. In this body of work, each sheet of metal is cut with a plasma torch and then dipped into boiling zinc, resulting in sculptures that are subtly patterned and highly reflective, resembling pebbles in a stream or the epidermal layer of skin.
Writing about the unique materiality of his sculptures, Noguchi described metal as a mirror in opposition to “stone [as] depth.” His galvanized steel sculptures achieve formal unity while also exploring conceptual dualities between the traditional and modern, fine art and design, and industry and nature. As a Japanese American artist working in the United States, Noguchi negotiated his own feeling of in-betweenness throughout his oeuvre. The galvanized steel editions synthesize this dual aspect of his identity, utilizing steel—a distinctly American material—while also integrating the Japanese craft of origami through cut and folded metal shapes.
Featuring a selection of nine galvanized steel sculptures, the exhibition is organized into thematic groupings that underscore the paradoxes of the artist’s work in metal. In the first, Noguchi imparts inanimate forms with human qualities, complicating the relationship between flesh and steel, body and mirror. Man-made material is transformed into representations of mountains, fruit, and sky in the second grouping, reflecting Noguchi’s belief that, in modernity, industry and nature are intertwined. A final trio of works reveals Noguchi’s ongoing interest in abstraction, bringing theoretical and spiritual ideas, weight and weightlessness, and past and present into visual dialogue. Through these sculptures, Noguchi explores ways of belonging in between such imagined oppositions. Indeed, the polished steel surfaces entangle objects, spaces, and people in a network of cast reflections, inviting visitors to contemplate Noguchi’s life, his practice, and themselves.
Isamu Noguchi: Metal the Mirror is curated by Julia Mun, Curatorial Associate, with support from Ashley Holland, Curator and Director of Curatorial Initiatives, and Javier Rivero Ramos, Assistant Curator. The presentation at the Bruce is organized by Margarita Karasoulas, Curator of Art.
Isamu Noguchi: Metal the Mirror is organized by Art Bridges.