Untitled

Isamu Noguchi 野口勇

1952 · Unglazed Bizen stoneware · Asian Art

In 1952, Noguchi was given access to Kitaōji Rosanjin’s kilns in Kamakura to experiment with ceramics and also visited Inbe, an area famous for Bizen ware, to study wood-firing methods. While working in the studio of Kaneshige Tōyō, the first Living National Treasure of Bizen ceramics, he created a plaster mold of an abstract “mask.” Most likely a self-portrait, Work (Mask) depicts a figure with a concentrated expression clenching a cigarette stub in its teeth. Constantin Brancusi’s sculptures provided Noguchi with a modernist context, but he found inspiration in Kofun-period Haniwa figures, ancient funerary objects that were hand-built and unglazed. His 1952 solo exhibition in Kamakura of groundbreaking ceramic sculptures had a powerful impact on progressive younger potters, such as the Sōdeisha members.

Artist

Isamu Noguchi 野口勇

Date

1952

Medium

Unglazed Bizen stoneware

Culture

Japan, Imbe

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2021