Isamu Noguchi Furniture
Japanese, American, 1904-1988
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.
163
31
to
7
110
79
194
194
194
149
4
1
163
31
1
120
33
4
2
72
8
8
11
12
159
133
123
26
17
152
151
151
30
29
116
5,224
4,014
2,455
2,235
Creator: Isamu Noguchi
1940s Isamu Noguchi Black+White Train Clock Modernist Japanese Industrial Design
By Isamu Noguchi
Located in Hyattsville, MD
Sale includes both, and both clocks are untested, thus graded DISTRESSED, despite being cosmetically good.
Category
1930s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Isamu Noguchi Furniture
Materials
Bakelite
Akari 20N Table Lamp by Isamu Noguchi, Japan - 1951
By Ozeki & Co. Ltd. 1, Isamu Noguchi
Located in Berlin, DE
H 64 cm W 40 cm D 40 cm
Material: Washi paper, bamboo ribs, black lacquered metal frame, rubber feet, E 27 socket with pull switch, connection cable
Condition: good original condit...
Category
1950s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Vintage Isamu Noguchi Furniture
Materials
Metal
Isamu Noguchi Floor Light, Akari UF3-Q, Washi Paper Shade with Black Spheres
By Isamu Noguchi, Ozeki & Co. Ltd. 1
Located in Wargrave, Berkshire
An Akari light sculpture, model UF3-Q, designed by Isamu Noguchi in 1951, and manufactured by Ozeki & Co. in Gifu, Japan.
Comprising a coated metal folding tripod base, with remov...
Category
1980s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Vintage Isamu Noguchi Furniture
Materials
Metal
Signed Herman Miller by Isamu Noguchi Glass Cocktail Coffee Table
By Isamu Noguchi, Herman Miller
Located in West Hartford, CT
Coveted and signed sculptural cocktail table by Isamu Noguchi for Herman Miller, designed in the 1940s. Whe you talk about "iconic" tables, this one is on the shortlist! High-quality...
Category
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Isamu Noguchi Furniture
Materials
Glass, Wood, Ash
Isamu Noguchi Akari Light Sculpture, Model 70EN Ceiling Lamp
By Isamu Noguchi
Located in Centreville, VA
Akari Light Sculptures by Isamu Noguchi are considered icons of 1950s modern design. Designed by Noguchi beginning in 1951 and handmade for a half century by the original manufacture...
Category
1950s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Vintage Isamu Noguchi Furniture
Materials
Bamboo, Paper
Isamu Noguchi Early IN-50 Coffee Table with Cherry Base and Original Glass, 1949
By Isamu Noguchi
Located in Coronado, CA
A stunning and completely original Isamu Noguchi's IN-50 coffee table circa ~1949. This example consists of an early cherry wood base and the original apple green glass. The cherry b...
Category
1940s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Isamu Noguchi Furniture
Materials
Uranium Glass, Cherry
Rare Isamu Noguchi Mid Century Modern Paper First Edition 75D Akari Japan Lamp
By Ozeki & Co. Ltd. 1, Isamu Noguchi
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Discover the timeless allure of the Isamu Noguchi Akari Lamp, model 75D, a pendant lamp designed around 1950 and manufactured by Ozeki & Co. Ltd. in Japan. This mid-century modern ma...
Category
1950s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Vintage Isamu Noguchi Furniture
Materials
Paper
Isamu Noguchi Model 24N Akari Light Sculpture Handcrafted by Ozeki, Japan
By Ozeki & Co. Ltd. 1, Isamu Noguchi, Vitra
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Iconic Akari light sculpture known as Model 24N designed by Isamu Noguchi and handcrafted from traditional washi paper. Each Akari lamp shade is meticulously crafted by hand in the O...
Category
1950s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Vintage Isamu Noguchi Furniture
Materials
Bamboo, Paper
Isamu Noguchi Pair Model 14A Akari Light Sculpture in Washi Paper for Ozeki
By Ozeki & Co. Ltd. 1, Isamu Noguchi, Vitra
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Wonderful Pair Akari light sculptures (Model 14A) by Isamu Noguchi handcrafted from traditional washi paper and bamboo. Each Akari Light Sculpture was metic...
Category
1950s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Vintage Isamu Noguchi Furniture
Materials
Metal
Isamu Noguchi Akari BB3-33S Floor Lamp
By Isamu Noguchi
Located in New York, NY
Akari Light Sculptures by Isamu Noguchi are considered icons of 1950s modern design. Designed by Noguchi beginning in 1951 and handmade for a half century by the original manufactur...
Category
2010s Japanese Modern Isamu Noguchi Furniture
Materials
Steel
Isamu Noguchi, 'Akari' Hanging Light Sculpture
By Isamu Noguchi
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Isamu Noguchi 'Akari' hanging light sculpture, model no. 33N by Ozeki and Co. Ltd.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Isamu Noguchi Furniture
Materials
Bamboo, Paper
Akari Model 1A Light Sculpture by Isamu Noguchi
By Isamu Noguchi, Ozeki & Co. Ltd. 1
Located in Glendale, CA
Akari model 1A light sculpture by Isamu Noguchi. The shade is made from handmade washi paper and bamboo ribs with Noguchi Akari manufacturer's stamp. Akari light sculptures by Isamu ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Mid-Century Modern Isamu Noguchi Furniture
Materials
Metal
Isamu Noguchi '1904-1988', Akari Suspension Model 33N, USA, circa 1970
By Isamu Noguchi
Located in Nice, Cote d' Azur
Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988),
Akari Suspension Model 33N,
Washi paper, Edition Ozeki & Co, Ltd.
With its original box,
United States, circa 1970.
Measures: 158 x 40 x 40 cm.
Isamu Noguchi was born on November 17, 1904, in Los Angeles. His Japanese father was a poet and his American mother a writer. In 1906, the family moved to Japan. He was sent to Indiana for schooling in 1918, and in 1922 he apprenticed to the sculptor Gutzon Borglum in Connecticut. For the next two years, he was a premedical student at Columbia University, New York, and took sculpture classes at the Leonardo da Vinci Art School, also in New York. Noguchi decided to become an artist and left Columbia in 1925. A John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship in 1927 enabled him to go to Paris, where he worked as Constantin Brancusi’s studio assistant. In Paris, he became friendly with Alexander Calder, Stuart Davis, and Jules Pascin. Noguchi returned to New York in 1928 and the following year showed abstract sculpture in his first solo show at the Eugene Schoen Gallery.
In 1930, Noguchi traveled in Europe and Asia, studying calligraphy in China and pottery in Japan. In New York during the early 1930s, he associated with Arshile Gorky, John Graham, Chaim Gross, and Moses and Raphael Soyer, and introduced social content into his work. He began to design playgrounds, furniture, and theater decor, executing the first of numerous sets for Martha Graham. During World War II, Noguchi became a political activist and voluntarily spent seven months in 1941–42 at a Japanese-American relocation camp in Arizona. In 1949, he was given a solo show at the Egan Gallery, New York. In Japan in 1950–51, he designed gardens, bridges, and monuments and developed his akari (paper lanterns). He showed at the Stable Gallery, New York, in 1954 and 1959.
Noguchi’s first solo show in Paris was held at the Galerie Claude Bernard in 1964. The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, honored him with a major retrospective in 1968. Throughout the 1970s, Noguchi continued to make large outdoor sculpture and fountains...
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Isamu Noguchi Furniture
Materials
Paper
Isamu Noguchi Model 10A Akari Light Sculpture hand crafted by Ozeki, Japan
By Isamu Noguchi, Ozeki & Co. Ltd. 1
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Iconic Akari light sculpture known as Model 10A designed by Isamu Noguchi and handcrafted from traditional washi paper and bamboo. Each Akari lamp shade is meticulously crafted by hand in the Ozeki...
Category
1950s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Vintage Isamu Noguchi Furniture
Materials
Bamboo, Paper
Vintage Akari Light Sculpture Model L3 by Isamu Noguchi
By Isamu Noguchi, Akari
Located in Chalk Hill, PA
Akari Light Sculpture model L3 designed by Isamu Noguchi. This is a vintage, used model from an estate. Manufacture date is unknown but estimated to have b...
Category
Mid-20th Century Japanese Mid-Century Modern Isamu Noguchi Furniture
Materials
Metal
Rare Early 10D Akari Floor Lamp by Isamu Noguchi for Ozeki, 1950s
By Isamu Noguchi, Ozeki & Co. Ltd. 1
Located in Echt, NL
Early important 10D Akari lamp in excellent condition.
Designed by Isamu Noguchi in 1951 Produced by Ozeki & Co., Ltd.
New old stock!
Model 10D is a floor lamp with a metal frame and an oval shaped shade from the Akari series.
This example features the earliest manufacturer's mark, a red sun and half-moon insignia.
The lamp is made out of Japanese washi paper, bamboo and metal.
In 1951 Isamu Noguchi visited the town of Gifu, Japan, known for its manufacture of lanterns and umbrellas from mulberry bark paper and bamboo. 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. The fabrication of Akari in Japan at Ozeki & Co. since 1951 followed the traditional methods for Japanese Gifu lanterns...
Category
20th Century Japanese Mid-Century Modern Isamu Noguchi Furniture
Materials
Metal
Isamu Noguchi Akari UF3-XN, Ozeki, 1951
By Isamu Noguchi
Located in Lille, Hauts-de-France
An Akari model « UF3-XN » by Isamu Noguchi
Original shade in washi & bamboo rims Structure & base in black lacquered metal
Hand-made form realized by Ozeki...
Category
1950s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Vintage Isamu Noguchi Furniture
Materials
Metal
Pair of Isamu Noguchi Akari 14A Floor Lamps
By Isamu Noguchi, Akari, Ozeki & Co. Ltd. 1
Located in Glendale, CA
Pair of Isamu Noguchi Akari 14A floor lamp. The shade is made from handmade washi paper and bamboo ribs with Noguchi Akari manufactu...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Anglo-Japanese Isamu Noguchi Furniture
Materials
Metal
Akari Model 24N Light Sculpture by Isamu Noguchi
By Isamu Noguchi, Akari, Ozeki & Co. Ltd. 1
Located in Glendale, CA
Akari model 24N light sculpture by Isamu Noguchi. The shade is made from handmade washi paper and bamboo ribs with Noguchi Akari manufacturer's stamp. Akari l...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Mid-Century Modern Isamu Noguchi Furniture
Materials
Metal
Sculptural Table Lamp by Isamu Noguchi, UF1-0, Akari Series
By Isamu Noguchi, Ozeki & Co. Ltd. 1
Located in Schagen, NL
This wonderful handcrafted sculptural lamp was designed by the famous Isamu Noguchi in the 1950s.
This Tri-colored (black, white, red) lamp was manufactured by Ozeki and Co Ltd. ...
Category
1950s Japanese Japonisme Vintage Isamu Noguchi Furniture
Materials
Metal
Isamu Noguchi furniture for sale on 1stDibs.
Isamu Noguchi furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of paper and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Isamu Noguchi furniture, although beige editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original furniture by Isamu Noguchi were created in the mid-century modern style in japan during the 20th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Ozeki & Co. Ltd., La Gardo Tackett, and Akari. Prices for Isamu Noguchi furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $160 and can go as high as $69,000, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $5,745.
Creators Similar to Isamu Noguchi
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Isamu Noguchi Furniture
Isamu Noguchi Floor Lamps
Isamu Noguchi Table Lamps
Isamu Noguchi Chandeliers and Pendants
Isamu Noguchi Sculptures
Isamu Noguchi Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Isamu Noguchi Dining Room Tables
Isamu Noguchi Tables
Isamu Noguchi Lanterns
Isamu Noguchi Side Tables
Isamu Noguchi Collectibles and Curiosities
Isamu Noguchi Stools
Isamu Noguchi Sofas