Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Isamu Noguchi, 1955, gelatin silver print. © 2025 Center for Creative Photography, Arizona Board of Regents/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. © 2025 The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, New York/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Isamu Noguchi: “I am not a designer”
September 19, 2026 – January 3, 2027
Drop-In Art Making Events: Beginning Nov 6, 2026, with additional sessions on select dates
Curator Talk: November, 14, 2026, 1-3pm
Newly opened at the Peabody Essex Museum, Isamu Noguchi: “I am not a designer” celebrates the boundless creativity of one of the 20th century’s most acclaimed and genre-defying artists. Noguchi created a remarkable design legacy encompassing sculpture, lighting, furniture, ceramics and designs for public spaces such as gardens, playgrounds and plazas.
Organized by the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Isamu Noguchi: “I am not a designer” shines a light on the artist’s limitless creativity and social consciousness. Discover the evolution of Noguchi’s design work, particularly the way he created environments through theatrical set design, furniture and inclusive public spaces — all of which were intentionally designed to improve the way people lived. Many of his designs remain incredibly popular, such as the celebrated coffee table and Akari light sculptures that you may recognize in stores today. As Noguchi once said, “Everything is sculpture. Any material, any idea without hindrance born into space, I consider sculpture.”
Noguchi also excelled at working collaboratively and forming close relationships with other creative professionals, particularly with modern dancer and choreographer Martha Graham, American architect R. Buckminster Fuller and Romanian sculptor and painter Constantin Brâncuși. These fruitful creative relationships are also highlighted within the exhibition.
Be sure to join them for a series of engaging programs inspired by the work of Noguchi. Beginning November 6, create your own one-of-a-kind paper lampshade or lantern inspired by Noguchi’s iconic Akari light sculptures, with additional drop-in art-making sessions offered on select dates. Beginning November 7, create a dream playground collage inspired by the exhibition, also with multiple opportunities to participate. Then, on November 14, join curator and scholar Christina Hiromi Hobbs for a fascinating talk exploring Noguchi’s voluntary incarceration at the Poston War Relocation Center in Arizona during World War II. Come create, learn, and connect with Noguchi’s art—explore the full schedule and register!
To learn more, click here.