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.
Isamu Noguchi Model 14A Akari Light Sculpture
By Ozeki & Co. Ltd. 1, Akari, Isamu Noguchi
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Isamu Noguchi Model 14A Akari Light Sculpture. The shade is made from handmade washi paper and bamboo ribs with Noguchi Akari manufacturer's stam...
Metal
Isamu Noguchi Akari 10A Floor Lamp with Stamped Signature
By Isamu Noguchi, Ozeki & Co. Ltd. 1
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Isamu Noguchi Akari 10A floor lamp. The shade is made from handmade washi paper and bamboo ribs with Noguchi Akari manufacturer's stamp. Highly c...
Metal
Isamu Noguchi Akari 10A Floor Lamp with Stamped Signature- Showroom Display
By Ozeki & Co. Ltd. 1, Isamu Noguchi
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Isamu Noguchi Akari 10A Floor Lamp with Stamped Signature- Showroom Display. The shade is made from handmade washi paper and bamboo ribs with Noguch...
Metal
Monumental Isamu Noguchi Akari 25N Floor Lamp
By Ozeki & Co. Ltd. 1, Akari, Isamu Noguchi
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Monumental Isamu Noguchi Akari 25N floor lamp. The shade is made from handmade washi paper and bamboo ribs with Noguchi Akari manufacturer's stamp. Akari lig...
Metal
Monumental Isamu Noguchi Akari 23N Floor Lamp
By Akari, Isamu Noguchi, Ozeki & Co. Ltd. 1
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Large Isamu Noguchi Akari 23N floor lamp. Executed in handmade washi paper and bamboo ribs with original Noguchi Akari manufacturer's stamp and metal legs. ...
Metal
Akari Model 1A Light Sculpture by Isamu Noguchi
By Isamu Noguchi, Ozeki & Co. Ltd. 1
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Akari model 1A light sculpture by Isamu Noguchi. This table lamp has a shade made from handmade washi paper and bamboo ribs with the original Noguch...
Metal
Isamu Noguchi Akari Floor Lamp ST2-35N
By Isamu Noguchi, Ozeki & Co. Ltd. 1
Located in Malmö, SE
This is an exceptional floor lamp. Designed by Isamu Noguchi and made by Ozeki & Co in Gifu, Japan. Model ST2-35N. The lampshade is created from handmade washi paper and bamboo ribb...
Steel
Early Akari floor lamp 10a designed by Isamu Noguchi for Ozeki Ltd.
By Isamu Noguchi, Ozeki & Co. Ltd. 1
Located in Offenburg, Baden Wurthemberg
Remarkable early AKARI 10a floor lamp with Washi Paper lampshade designed by Isamu Noguchi, manufactured by Ozeki, Japan in the 1960ies. This floor lamp features a white Washi pape...
Steel
Rare Akari 10DA by Isamu Noguchi for Ozeki 1951, 1st Edition
By Isamu Noguchi, Ozeki & Co. Ltd. 1
Located in Mortsel, BE
What makes this particular Akari lamp even more exceptional is its pristine condition and history. This lamp has never been used before, preserved in its original state since its pro...
Metal, Steel
A pair of 1951 Isamu Noguchi Akari Table Lamps BB1-30XN
By Isamu Noguchi
Located in Seattle, WA
A New Old Stock pair of Isamu Noguchi's Light sculpture Table Lamps BB1-30XN. Original boxes for the 30XN shade with 30XN stamp on the end of each box, with newer bases (2010s). The ...
Steel
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...
Metal
Pair of floor lamps by Arlus
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Pair of floor lamps by Arlus from 1950 Brass and metal
Metal, Brass
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