Rain Mountain, Duo, Neo-Lithic

Isamu Noguchi

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About the Artwork

Isamu Noguchi’s galvanised-steel sculptures Rain Mountain, Duo and Neo-Lithic (left to right), all from 1982-83, express his lifelong engagement with sculpture, the landscape and the bodily sensorium. Drawing inspiration from ancient forms and modern technologies as well as his own Japanese and American cultural inheritances, Noguchi sought to create works offering an experience of space and presence, stating “I want sculpture equal to myself walking”.

Over the course of his long career, Noguchi experimented with paper, stone, wood, slate, ceramics, and iron, choosing materials appropriate to the sculpture’s environment. He associated metal and industrial fabrication with America, writing “It seemed to me absurd to be working with rocks and stones in New York, where walls of glass and steel are our horizon, and our landscape is that of boxes piled high in the air.”

Year: 1982-83 (2019-20)

Material

Hot-dipped galvanised steel

Dimensions

243.8 x 79.4 x 63.5 cm, 222.3 x 67.3 x 61 cm, 183.5 x 71.8 x 41.3 cm

Artist Biography

Isamu Noguchi

Born to an American mother and Japanese father, Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988) was one of the twentieth century’s most important and critically acclaimed artists. During his long, experimental career, he created sculptures, gardens, furniture and lighting designs, ceramics, architecture and set designs. His work, at once subtle and bold, traditional and modern, sets a new standard for the reintegration of the arts. Noguchi’s works, it has been said, often look like they could have been made thousands of years ago or yesterday.