Oval "Akari" Hanging Lamp by Isamu Noguchi for Akari, Japan, circa 1950

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Oval "Akari" Hanging Lamp by Isamu Noguchi for Akari, Japan, circa 1950

About the Item

Stunning oval shaped "Akari" hanging lamp designed by Isamu Noguchi, manufactured by Akari in, Japan, circa 1950. With the warm glow of light cast through hand-made paper on a bamboo frame, Isamu Noguchi utilized traditional Japanese materials to bring modern design to the home. Like the beauty of falling leaves and the cherry blossom, Noguchi wrote, Akari are "poetic, ephemeral, and tentative." He was fond of saying, "All that you require to start a home are a room, a tatami, and Akari." In 1951 Isamu Noguchi visited the Japanese town of Gifu, know for its manufacture of lanterns and umbrellas from the mulberry bark paper and bamboo. Inspired by the lanterns illuminating night fishing on the Nagara River, Noguchi designed the first of his lamps that would be produced by the traditional Gifu methods of construction. He called these works Akari, a term meaning light as illumination, but also implying the idea of weightlessness. Extending the concept of illuminated sculpture that he developed during the 1940s in New York, Noguchi employed abstract shapes to unite the simplicity of Japanese aesthetics with the principles of contemporary art and design. More that home furnishing, Akari are light sculptures. The fabrication of Akari in Japan at Ozeki Company since 1951 follows the traditional methods for Japanese Gifu lanterns. Each Akari is hand crafted beginning with the making of washi paper from the inner bark of the mulberry tree. Bamboo ribbing is stretched across wooden molded forms, which resembles sculpture. The washi paper is cut into wide or narrow strips depending upon the size and shape of the lamp and then glued onto both sides of the framework. Once the glue has dried and the shape is set the internal wooden form is disassembled and removed. In good original condition with minor wear consistent with age and use, preserving a beautiful patina. About the designer: One of the most important artists of the twentieth century, Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) expanded the traditional notion of sculpture to include the creation of dance sets, gardens, playgrounds, fountains and furniture. Within this range of spatial environment Isamu Noguchi's Akari lanterns hold a unique place, expressing his Japanese's American heritage in works designed to enhance the quality everyday life. Isamu Noguchi was the son of an American mother, Leonie Gilmour, and a Japanese father, poet Yone Noguchi. Born in Los Angeles, Noguchi spent his childhood in Japan before returning to the United States for his education. As a young man he traveled to Paris to work with sculptor Constantin Brancusi, and he went on to develop his own unique career as an artist in New York. After visiting Japan in 1931 Noguchi began to integrate elements of Japanese art with Western modernism. Throughout the 1950s Noguchi spent a great deal of time in Japan, embracing Japanese forms for the design of gardens and sculpture. Literature: The Noguchi Museum

Creator:
Isamu Noguchi (Designer),Akari (Manufacturer)
Dimensions:
Height: 11.03 in (28 cm)Diameter: 24.81 in (63 cm)
Style:
Mid-Century Modern (In the Style Of)
Materials and Techniques:
Bamboo,Metal,Paper
Place of Origin:
Japan
Period:
1950-1959
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1950
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
Amsterdam, NL
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU103985891243

Shop All Isamu Noguchi

Isamu Noguchi

A sculptor, painter, ceramicist and furniture and lighting designer, Isamu Noguchi was one of the most prolific and protean creative forces of the 20th century and a key figure in the development of organic modernism. Noguchi’s sculptures and designs — his chairs and tables as well as his timeless Akari lamp and other lighting fixtures — share a common spirit: one of lyrical abstraction, tempo and flow and harmonious balance.

Noguchi was born in Los Angeles to an American mother and Japanese father, and spent most of his childhood in Japan. He returned to the United States at age 13, went to high school in Indiana and enrolled at Columbia University to study medicine. At the same time, he took night courses in sculpture.

Within three months, Noguchi left college to pursue art full time. Noguchi was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1927 and traveled to Paris to work under Constantin Brancusi. It marked a turning point. Inspired by Brancusi, Noguchi embraced abstraction and began to sculpt in the expressive, rhythmic style that would be the hallmark of his work.

Once back in New York, Noguchi was introduced to design by what would become a lifelong collaboration creating sets for choreographer Martha Graham. His first industrial designs were in Bakelite: the sleek Measured Time kitchen timer created circa 1932, and his famed Zenith Radio Nurse intercom, from 1937.

Ten years later, Herman Miller introduced Noguchi’s now-iconic glass-topped coffee table with an articulated wooden base. His washi paper and bamboo Akari light sculptures, handmade in Japan, debuted in 1951. In the late 1950s, Noguchi designed for Knoll, creating such pieces as his dynamic Cyclone table and rocking stool.

For collectors, Noguchi’s furniture and lighting designs remain his most accessible work — they have the same power and presence that Noguchi brought to his art.

Find vintage Isamu Noguchi floor lamps, table lamps, coffee tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.