A Terrific, Career-Spanning Isamu Noguchi Show At Pace In Chelsea

Isamu Noguchi: Variations at Chelsea's Pace Gallery

It's still a little too unpleasant out, weather-wise, to make the trek over to the Noguchi Museum near the East River in Long Island City, Queens, though you should definitely get there this spring or summer if you've never been, because it's one of the city's great undersung treasures, and you can really make a day out of it by having a picnic or whatever at the nearby Socrates Sculpture Park. Anyway, until then, the Chelsea art gallery powerhouse Pace has all of your Noguchi desires covered with a terrific, career-spanning retrospective of the renowned Japanese-American sculptor and designer's works across all mediums.  

Isamu Noguchi: Variations at Chelsea's Pace Gallery

Isamu Noguchi: Variations at Chelsea's Pace Gallery

The Noguchi exhibition is called "Variations", and takes over Pace's entire double-wide gallery at the eastern end of 25th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues. There's a lot of great examples here of the myriad explorations upon which Noguchi embarked during his seven-decade career. From his delicate paper hanging lamps to his rough-hewn rocks; from his oversized, rigidly geometric, almost structural pieces to his iconic, smooth, and sensual coffee tables, from his abstract, alien-looking sculptural works to his simple, graphic drawings… most artists dream of having ONE period in their creative lives as fruitful and acclaimed as any number of Noguchi's many phases.

Isamu Noguchi: Variations at Chelsea's Pace Gallery

What To Expect From Isamu Noguchi: Variations

Other highlights of the Noguchi "Variations" retrospective at Pace include several set pieces he did for a Martha Graham dance performance (one of the many times he collaborated with Graham over the course of life); models from his extensive side-career as designer of playgrounds; highly-polished marble arches, torsos, and phallic symbols; and one work I had never before seen which appeared to be his interpretation of a vintage hot rod. As I often think (and, subsequently, write) whenever I go to one of these art-star shows at a heavy-hitter gallery like Pace, if you put on this exhibition in any mid-sized city in the country, it'd be the talk of the town… or, at least, the part of town that talks about art. Here in New York City? Just another day, just one of a hundred amazing things to see to and do, in the cultural capital of the world. 

Isamu Noguchi: Variations at Chelsea's Pace Gallery

For More Information on Isamu Noguchi: Variations

Isamu Noguchi: "Variations" will be at Pace through March 21. This Pace gallery (there are many) is located at 508 and 510 West 25th Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues, and is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. 6:00 p.m. More information can be found here.      

Isamu Noguchi: Variations at Chelsea's Pace Gallery

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