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Exhibition

Noguchi's Playscapes

July 15–November 26, 2017

Artist Isamu Noguchi (Los Angeles, 1904–New York, 1988) explored the sculptural medium throughout his career, often extending beyond the gallery into the commercial and public realm through design. Observing that playgrounds offer a physical and social interaction not typically seen in a museum, he designed a number of public spaces where visitors could physically and actively engage with art. Noguchi’s Playscapes, organized by the Museo Tamayo, revisits his designs for several playgrounds, as well as stand-alone play structures. Through models, sketches, set designs, and archival images, the exhibition offers a view of Noguchi’s vision for new experiences of art, education, and humanity through play. While few were realized, Noguchi’s playscapes continue to inspire contemporary designers to consider play as a strategy for building community and stimulating creativity in the everyday.


Exhibition Preview

Table top model of a brightly colored pavilion with a large sphere suspended above, set into a lawn
​Fay S. Lincoln, Image of Noguchi’s playground equipment for Ala Moana Park, Hawaii
​Isamu Noguchi, Slide Mantra Maquette

Isamu Noguchi, U.S. Pavilion Expo ’70, 1968; © The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Fay S. Lincoln, Image of Noguchi’s playground equipment for Ala Moana Park, Hawaii, c. 1940; © the Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Isamu Noguchi, Slide Mantra Maquette, c. 1985; © the Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; photo: Kevin Noble

The exhibition is organized by the Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo and the Fundacíon Olga y Rufino Tamayo, A.C., in collaboration with The Noguchi Museum in New York.

Header image: Isamu Noguchi, U.S. Pavilion Expo ’70, 1968 (detail); © The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.