Noguchi to Perriand - East Meets West

Curated by Lee F. Mindel, FAIA, and Laffanour - Galerie Downtown Paris

Noguchi to Perriand - East Meets West

NOGUCHI TO PERRIAND EAST MEETS WEST

7 DECEMBER - 18 FEBRUARY

FOREWORD

“Noguchi to Perriand: East Meets West”, in collaboration with Laffanour - Galerie Downtown Paris, is the second exhibition at Galerie56, a platform conceived to celebrate the intersection of art, architecture, and design. With a collection of work exclusively from Isamu Noguchi and Charlotte Perriand, the exhibition draws parallels between the work of two designers who shared the optimism of the twentieth century, forging their own paths in a brave new world devoid of traditional borders. Noguchi’s work took its form in sculptures, furniture and lighting designs, ceramics, and architecture. His much-lauded light paper sculptures established a new milleu by embracing traditional Japanese materials in a modern context while creating economic opportunity for post World War II Japanese villages. While Perriand’s work—often expressed through collaborations with Le Corbousier and Pierre Jeanneret—displayed a commitment to functional living spaces, her designs could also articulate the profound effect that Japan had on her work.

Both having lived in Japan and France, amongst other countries, Noguchi and Perriand were both represented by Steph Simon in his Parisian Saint Germain Gallery. From 1956 - 1974, Simon represented works by artists and architects who pursued a new vision of an egalitarian world where people of all ethnicities and genders were included. Within this conext, Noguchi and Perriand found their home.

Lee

This exhibition would not be possible without the scholarship, sensitivity and generosity of François Laffanour

GALERIE56

www.galerie56.com

LAFFANOUR GALERIE DOWNTOWN PARIS

www.galeriedowntown.com

F. Mindel, FAIAA

Interior Photos by Olympia Shannon @Olyshannon

ISAMU NOGUCHI

1904 - 1988

Isamu Noguchi was born in Los Angeles in 1904, of an American mother and a Japanese father. He lived in Japan until his 13th birthday then moved to Indiana.

As a student at Columbia University, he attended sculpture evening class with Onorio Ruotolo. He quickly left university to become an academic sculptor.

In 1926, Noguchi went to the Constantin Brancusi show in New York, which deeply modified his artistic vision. With the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship he went to Paris and worked from 1927 to 1929 at Brancusi’s studio.

In 1942, Noguchi settled his studio in Greenwich Village in New York after travelling to Asia, Mexico and Europe.

After the war, Noguchi spent a lot of time in Japan. In the 60s, he began to learn how to work stones with Masatoshi Izumi on Shikoku Island.

In 1937, he designed an intercom in Bakélite for the Zenith Radio Corporation and in 1947 Herman Miller produced his glass table.

In 1985, Noguchi opened The Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum (now known as the Noguchi Museum), in Long Island.

The first Noguchi retrospective in USA occurred in 1968 at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. In 1986 he represented USA at the Venice Biennale.

He died in 1988.

CHARLOTTE PERRIAND

1903 - 1999

A major figure in interior architecture in the 20th century, Charlotte Perriand is a pioneer who, during seventy years of creation, led a political and ethical reflection leading to a habitat adapted to modern man. Thanks to her Bar under the roof successfully exhibited at the Salon dʼAutomne in 1927 when she was only a young 24-year-old graduate fresh out of the Central Union of Decorative Arts, she entered the closed club of the French avant-garde.

She joined the team of Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret who entrusted her with the interior design of the villas built by the agency. In 1929, she actively participated in the founding of the Union of Modern Artists (UAM) chaired by Robert Mallet-Stevens.

During the ten years of her collaboration with Le Corbusier, she continued her research on housing and furniture for the greatest number. She is interested in new materials such as steel and glass and in the new functionalities offered by progress to improve well-being in the home. She shared with Fernand Léger the creation of the Agriculture Pavilion at the 1937 International Exhibition, a platform which enabled her to develop the technique of photomontage for the communication of her political ideas. In 1940, she was officially appointed by the Japanese government as Advisor in Industrial Art and moved there. She finds herself enthusiastic about the modular principles of local architecture so close to her own conceptions.

Returning to France after the war, she concretized her ideas in terms of furniture in 1952 within the Ateliers Jean Prouvé, where she was in charge of the aesthetic improvement of the furniture. Finally, the vast construction site of Les Arcs in Savoie, where she is responsible for the design and interior fittings of the apartments, is an opportunity for her to apply her ideas in terms of mass production.

She died in 1999.

CHARLOTTE PERRIAND

‘Banquette Japon’

1966

Polished steel legs, wooden slatted seat and backrest, original cushions upholstered with Simone Prouve fabric

Steph Simon Edition

H 73 CM / 28.7 in.

L 143 CM / 56.2 in.

W 80 CM / 31.4 in.

Noguchi to Perriand - East Meets West

CHARLOTTE PERRIAND

‘Table de salle a manger’

1950

Pinewood dining table

H 72.5 CM / 28.5 in.

L 198 CM / 77.9 in.

W 84 CM / 33.1 in.

ISAMU NOGUCHI ‘Akari’ L5 Suspension

1960

Lampshade made of paper originating from Mino tree, Red Sun and Moon ideogram

Ozeki Company edition, Gifu, Japan

H 150 CM / 59.1 in.

D 62 CM / 24.4 in.

Noguchi to Perriand - East Meets West

ISAMU NOGUCHI

‘Japan Airline’ Attache Case

1970

Briefcase in Leather and Metal

H. 35 CM / 13.8 in L. 46 CM / 18.1 in D. 13 CM / 5.1 in

Isamu Noguchi’s personal attache case—part of Steph Simon’s archive that has since been acquired by Laffanour - Galerie Downtown Paris— is complete with the artist’s own travel documents, as well as an issue of LUI, a french men’s entertainment magazine in which his work was featured.

CHARLOTTE PERRIAND

‘Chaise Pailee’

1960

Wooden structure, curved backrest and straw seat, crosstie underneath, re-rushed and revarnished

Steph Simon Edition

H 76 CM / 29.9 in.

L 42 CM / 16.5 in.

W 41 CM / 16.1 in.

CHARLOTTE PERRIAND

‘Chaise Ombre’

1956

Chair in black molded dyed wood Steph Simon Edition

H 67 CM / 26.3 in.

L 53 CM / 20.8 in.

W 44 CM / 17.3 in.

Noguchi to Perriand - East Meets West

ISAMU NOGUCHI ‘Akari’ Suspension, Small Cucumber form

1960

Lampshade made of paper originating from Mino tree, Red Sun and Moon ideogram

H 74 CM / 29.1 in.

D 59 CM / 23.2 in.

CHARLOTTE PERRIAND ‘Table Rectangulaire’

1956

Wooden rectangular table top with rounded corners resting on four black lacquered tapered metal legs

H 67 CM / 26.4 in.

L 142.3 CM / 56 in.

D 85 CM / 33.5 in.

CHARLOTTE PERRIAND

‘Banquette Tokyo’

1956

Wooden slatted bench resting on three profiled legs.

Original cushions

Steph Simon Edition

H 26 CM / 10.2 in.

W 226 CM / 89 in.

D 73 CM / 28.7 in.

ISAMU NOGUCHI

‘Akari’ 30P Suspension

1960

Lampshade made of paper originating from Mino tree, Red Sun and Moon ideogram

Ozeki Company Edition, Gifu, Japan

H 179 CM / 70.5 in.

D 50 CM / 19.7 in.

Noguchi to Perriand - East Meets West

ISAMU NOGUCHI ‘Akari’ N25 Lamp”Bibendum”

1960

Lampshade made of paper originating from Mino tree, Red Sun and Moon ideogram

Ozeki Company Edition, Gifu, Japan

H 115 CM / 45.3 in.

Dia. 80 CM / 31.5 in.