Mountain Landscape (Bench)
Artist
Isamu Noguchi
(American, 1904 - 1988)
Date1981
MediumBasalt
DimensionsOverall: 28 1/2 × 83 1/2 × 28 inches, 2000 lb. (72.39 × 212.09 × 71.12 cm, 907.19 kg)
Credit LineGift of the Hall Family Foundation
Object numberF99-33/70
Signedon back side, 2-4 inches from bottom: "i. n. 81"
On View
On viewGallery Location
- L12
Collections
Exhibition HistoryIsamu Noguchi: Stones and Water, Pace Wildenstein, New York, May 1-June 26,
1998, unnumbered.
Isamu Noguchi: New Acquisitions from the Hall Family Foundation Collection at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, April 20-June 13, 1999, no cat.
Isamu Noguchi: New Acquisitions from the Hall Family Foundation Collection at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, April 20-June 13, 1999, no cat.
Mountain Landscape (Bench) reveals Noguchi's outstanding ability to combine refined carving and roughly chiseled surfaces within one work. The massive, horizontal bench was carved from a single piece of stone and rests on two stone feet. The flat-topped form on the sculpture's upper surface suggests a great mesa or mound rising from a primal landscape. These forms relate to Noguchi's lifelong study of ancient pyramids and burial mounds, which he explored on his world travels.
Like a distinctive rock that has been carefully placed in a traditional Japanese garden, Mountain Landscape (Bench) also served as an aid to meditation. At Noguchi's studio in Mure, Japan, he and others rested on the bench and observed other sculptures. But here, because we must preserve art for future generations, we ask you not to sit on the sculpture.
Like a distinctive rock that has been carefully placed in a traditional Japanese garden, Mountain Landscape (Bench) also served as an aid to meditation. At Noguchi's studio in Mure, Japan, he and others rested on the bench and observed other sculptures. But here, because we must preserve art for future generations, we ask you not to sit on the sculpture.
Isamu
Noguchi Foundation, Inc., Long Island City, NY, 1988;
With Pace Wildenstein, New York, by 1998;
Purchased from Pace Wildenstein by the Hall Family Foundation Collection, Kansas City, MO, 1998-1999;
Their gift to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, 1999.
With Pace Wildenstein, New York, by 1998;
Purchased from Pace Wildenstein by the Hall Family Foundation Collection, Kansas City, MO, 1998-1999;
Their gift to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, 1999.
Isamu Noguchi: Stones and Water, exh. cat. (New York: Pace Wildenstein, 1998), (repro.).
“Noguchi Sculptures at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art,” Art Now Gallery Guide (April 1999): 6 (repro.).
“Exhibitions,” House Beautiful (May 1999): 46 (repro.).
Heather Lustfeldt, “Empowering the Spectator: A Style Spanning Idioms and Ages,” Review (June 1999).
Kellie Houx, “Johnson Countian helps with Nelson’s sculptures,” N.E. Johnson County Sun (December 7, 2006): 1A.
“Noguchi Sculptures at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art,” Art Now Gallery Guide (April 1999): 6 (repro.).
“Exhibitions,” House Beautiful (May 1999): 46 (repro.).
Heather Lustfeldt, “Empowering the Spectator: A Style Spanning Idioms and Ages,” Review (June 1999).
Kellie Houx, “Johnson Countian helps with Nelson’s sculptures,” N.E. Johnson County Sun (December 7, 2006): 1A.
Copyright© The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
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