This critically acclaimed exhibition was the first major display in Europe of work by Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988) and included monumental sculpture never previously shown outside Japan.

The exhibition featured major loans from the artist’s home and studio collections in New York and Japan. Thunder Rock (1981), one of the largest carvings ever completed by Noguchi, weighing over 15 tonnes and standing seven feet tall, joined the exhibition in January 2009 to make an impressive addition to the show.

One of the great artists of the 20th century, Noguchi created a significant and influential body of work, including sculpture, public environmental projects and other public commissions, landscape and garden designs, and stage sets for the North American choreographer Martha Graham, as well as a collaboration with designer Charles Eames, architect and interior designer Paul László, and designer George Nelson on a catalogue of modern furniture widely considered to be the most influential of its time.

Stone became Noguchi’s chosen material, particularly natural boulders of hard basalt and granite. This exhibition included an indoor and outdoor display of Noguchi’s magnificent stone carvings, ranging in size from 25 tonnes to small interior works, along with ceramics, set designs, furniture, drawings, and works on paper.

The Park’s elegant historic landscaped gardens and terraces were transformed by monumental stone sculptures into a space of calm and contemplation, reflecting the artist’s public works and the traditional Japanese Zen gardens in which the artist found inspiration and solace.

Displays in the Underground Gallery and open air were complemented by a selling exhibition of iconic Vitra licensed homeware by Isamu Noguchi, Charles and Ray Eames, Sori Yanagi, Frank Gehry, George Nelson and Rowan and Erwan Bouroullec, in the Garden Gallery.