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Lot Essay
"The essence of sculpture is for me the perception of space, the continuum of our existence. All dimensions are but measures of it, as in relative perspective of our vision lay volume, line, point, giving shape, distance, proportion. Movement, light, and time itself are also qualities of space. Space is otherwise inconceivable. These are the essence of sculpture and as our concepts of them change, so must our sculpture change" - Isamu Noguchi (I. Noguchi, quoted in S. Hunter, Isamu Noguchi, New York, 1978, p. 85).
“Pure abstractions, or at least those geometrically derived, left me cold, and I was always being torn between Brancusi’s admonition and my desire to make something more meaningful to myself. This is not to say that I thought of deriving anything from the figure. But I craved a certain morphologic quality. I developed a deep interest at the time in cellular structure and collected books on paleontology, botany, and zoology”—Isamu Noguchi
(I. Noguchi, quoted in S. Hunter, Isamu Noguchi, London 1979, p. 38).
“It is my desire to view nature through nature’s eyes, and to ignore man as an object for special veneration. [...] Indeed, a fine balance of spirit with matter can only concur when the artist has so thoroughly submerged himself in the study of the unity of nature as to truly become once more part of nature”—Isamu Noguchi
(I. Noguchi, quoted in D. Apostolos-Cappadona and B. Altshuler, eds., Isamu Noguchi: Essays and Conversations, New York, 1994, p. 16).
One of the most acclaimed sculptors of the 20th century, Isamu Noguchi combined Eastern and Western philosophies in an attempt to more fully question raw materials and natural forms. Untitled is an exquisite example of the more intimate sculptures the artist made during a breakout period in his career. In 1927, while applying for a Guggenheim fellowship that would later allow him to travel to Europe, Noguchi wrote, “It is my desire to view nature through nature’s eyes, and to ignore man as an object for special veneration. [...] Indeed, a fine balance of spirit with matter can only concur when the artist has so thoroughly submerged himself in the study of the unity of nature as to truly become once more part of nature” (I. Noguchi, quoted in D. Apostolos-Cappadona and B. Altshuler, eds., Isamu Noguchi: Essays and Conversations, New York, 1994, p. 16). This interest in fusing human presence with natural form is distinctly evident in Untitled, and its carefully considered structure speaks to Noguchi’s mastery of material and lifelong search for a more cohesive worldview.
Three biomorphic forms rest atop a rectangular base in a manner that is both in equilibrium and threatening to topple at any moment. The upper and lower shapes mimic each other slightly with four sections a piece, while the middle form stretches out beyond the confines of the work in a more languid display of its contours. Carved from wood and worked over by the artist into a rich chocolate brown, Untitled exhibits subtle grain striations that serve to enhance the horizontal properties of the sculpture. The top division has a miniscule indent in one of its nodules that exhibits the slightest of pinholes through which light peers. The attention to negative space in conjunction with the positive is a signature of Noguchi’s work and creates a deeper conversation about the structure as a whole.
Born in the United States, Noguchi nonetheless spent much of his childhood in Japan and was a lifelong world traveler. At the age of 22, in 1927, he spent time in Paris where he worked in the studio of Constantin Brancusi. The modernist sculptor greatly influenced Noguchi’s own work, but their reasons for making work differed. He recollected about this time early in his career, noting, “Pure abstractions, or at least those geometrically derived, left me cold, and I was always being torn between Brancusi’s admonition and my desire to make something more meaningful to myself. This is not to say that I thought of deriving anything from the figure. But I craved a certain morphologic quality. I developed a deep interest at the time in cellular structure and collected books on paleontology, botany, and zoology” (I. Noguchi, quoted in S. Hunter, Isamu Noguchi, London 1979, p. 38). While the time with Brancusi instilled a great interest in the natural properties of materials, Noguchi approached sculpting in a more organic fashion rather than as a formalist. Prior to his time in Paris, the young artist had apprenticed with a cabinet maker in the Japanese city of Chigasaki. There Noguchi learned traditional woodworking techniques like antiquing through a mixture of burning and rubbing with straw and sand that would carry on into works like Untitled. This combination of traditional processes and contemporary thinking are a mark of the artist’s innovation and genius.
Working on a number of sculptures and public commissions throughout the 1930s and 40s, Noguchi allied himself with some of the major artists working in the New York School. Taking the more philosophical tact, rather than the bold effervescence of the Action Painters, he identified more with artists like Barnett Newman and Clyfford Still. Noguchi’s large pieces were inspired by an interest in uplifting the social morale and doing good. However, by the mid-1940s, he became more concerned with intimate scale and personal relationships to art objects. Untitled is a perfect example of this inquiry as its smoothly-worked surface and small scale invite careful rumination and exhibits the patina of time and care that went into its manufacture. His introduction to the ideas of the Surrealists, as well as works by artists like Yves Tanguy, ignited an interest in biomorphism and existential thought. By the time Untitled was finished in 1945, this interest had translated into critically-lauded inquiries into the nature of shape and material. In 1946, Noguchi was included in the Museum of Modern Art’s influential exhibition Fourteen Americans alongside artists like Arshile Gorky and Robert Motherwell. This served to cement his career in New York, and was a turning point for his artistic production. Bruce Altshuler noted about Noguchi’s statement in the catalogue for Fourteen Americans, “now [Noguchi] addressed more inward needs: the ‘adjustment of the human psyche to chaos’ and the ‘transformation of human meaning into the encroaching void.’ Like many artists of the postwar period, Noguchi had moved from the social to personal issues, seeking existential meaning from art in a world bereft of stable values” (B. Altshuler, Isamu Noguchi, New York, London, and Paris, 1994, p. 49). The continued influence of Surrealism is palpable in Noguchi’s later works as he continued to look both inward and to nature for his abstracted forms.
“Pure abstractions, or at least those geometrically derived, left me cold, and I was always being torn between Brancusi’s admonition and my desire to make something more meaningful to myself. This is not to say that I thought of deriving anything from the figure. But I craved a certain morphologic quality. I developed a deep interest at the time in cellular structure and collected books on paleontology, botany, and zoology”—Isamu Noguchi
(I. Noguchi, quoted in S. Hunter, Isamu Noguchi, London 1979, p. 38).
“It is my desire to view nature through nature’s eyes, and to ignore man as an object for special veneration. [...] Indeed, a fine balance of spirit with matter can only concur when the artist has so thoroughly submerged himself in the study of the unity of nature as to truly become once more part of nature”—Isamu Noguchi
(I. Noguchi, quoted in D. Apostolos-Cappadona and B. Altshuler, eds., Isamu Noguchi: Essays and Conversations, New York, 1994, p. 16).
One of the most acclaimed sculptors of the 20th century, Isamu Noguchi combined Eastern and Western philosophies in an attempt to more fully question raw materials and natural forms. Untitled is an exquisite example of the more intimate sculptures the artist made during a breakout period in his career. In 1927, while applying for a Guggenheim fellowship that would later allow him to travel to Europe, Noguchi wrote, “It is my desire to view nature through nature’s eyes, and to ignore man as an object for special veneration. [...] Indeed, a fine balance of spirit with matter can only concur when the artist has so thoroughly submerged himself in the study of the unity of nature as to truly become once more part of nature” (I. Noguchi, quoted in D. Apostolos-Cappadona and B. Altshuler, eds., Isamu Noguchi: Essays and Conversations, New York, 1994, p. 16). This interest in fusing human presence with natural form is distinctly evident in Untitled, and its carefully considered structure speaks to Noguchi’s mastery of material and lifelong search for a more cohesive worldview.
Three biomorphic forms rest atop a rectangular base in a manner that is both in equilibrium and threatening to topple at any moment. The upper and lower shapes mimic each other slightly with four sections a piece, while the middle form stretches out beyond the confines of the work in a more languid display of its contours. Carved from wood and worked over by the artist into a rich chocolate brown, Untitled exhibits subtle grain striations that serve to enhance the horizontal properties of the sculpture. The top division has a miniscule indent in one of its nodules that exhibits the slightest of pinholes through which light peers. The attention to negative space in conjunction with the positive is a signature of Noguchi’s work and creates a deeper conversation about the structure as a whole.
Born in the United States, Noguchi nonetheless spent much of his childhood in Japan and was a lifelong world traveler. At the age of 22, in 1927, he spent time in Paris where he worked in the studio of Constantin Brancusi. The modernist sculptor greatly influenced Noguchi’s own work, but their reasons for making work differed. He recollected about this time early in his career, noting, “Pure abstractions, or at least those geometrically derived, left me cold, and I was always being torn between Brancusi’s admonition and my desire to make something more meaningful to myself. This is not to say that I thought of deriving anything from the figure. But I craved a certain morphologic quality. I developed a deep interest at the time in cellular structure and collected books on paleontology, botany, and zoology” (I. Noguchi, quoted in S. Hunter, Isamu Noguchi, London 1979, p. 38). While the time with Brancusi instilled a great interest in the natural properties of materials, Noguchi approached sculpting in a more organic fashion rather than as a formalist. Prior to his time in Paris, the young artist had apprenticed with a cabinet maker in the Japanese city of Chigasaki. There Noguchi learned traditional woodworking techniques like antiquing through a mixture of burning and rubbing with straw and sand that would carry on into works like Untitled. This combination of traditional processes and contemporary thinking are a mark of the artist’s innovation and genius.
Working on a number of sculptures and public commissions throughout the 1930s and 40s, Noguchi allied himself with some of the major artists working in the New York School. Taking the more philosophical tact, rather than the bold effervescence of the Action Painters, he identified more with artists like Barnett Newman and Clyfford Still. Noguchi’s large pieces were inspired by an interest in uplifting the social morale and doing good. However, by the mid-1940s, he became more concerned with intimate scale and personal relationships to art objects. Untitled is a perfect example of this inquiry as its smoothly-worked surface and small scale invite careful rumination and exhibits the patina of time and care that went into its manufacture. His introduction to the ideas of the Surrealists, as well as works by artists like Yves Tanguy, ignited an interest in biomorphism and existential thought. By the time Untitled was finished in 1945, this interest had translated into critically-lauded inquiries into the nature of shape and material. In 1946, Noguchi was included in the Museum of Modern Art’s influential exhibition Fourteen Americans alongside artists like Arshile Gorky and Robert Motherwell. This served to cement his career in New York, and was a turning point for his artistic production. Bruce Altshuler noted about Noguchi’s statement in the catalogue for Fourteen Americans, “now [Noguchi] addressed more inward needs: the ‘adjustment of the human psyche to chaos’ and the ‘transformation of human meaning into the encroaching void.’ Like many artists of the postwar period, Noguchi had moved from the social to personal issues, seeking existential meaning from art in a world bereft of stable values” (B. Altshuler, Isamu Noguchi, New York, London, and Paris, 1994, p. 49). The continued influence of Surrealism is palpable in Noguchi’s later works as he continued to look both inward and to nature for his abstracted forms.