Noguchi Museum - Long Island City, NY - Showcasing the Work of Isamu Noguchi

The Noguchi Museum is located in Long Island City, NY. Long Island City is located in the borough of Queens in New York City. The Museum is located at 9-01 33rd Road (at Vernon Boulevard). It is south of Socrates Sculpture Garden and east of Rainey Park. The Museum opened in 1985 with the purpose of housing and displaying the works of Isamu Noguchi (1904 - 1988). The building was a factory which was refurbished into a two-story museum with thirteen galleries. In 2004, the building was granted non-profit public charity status and was renovated and reopened to the public. The building encircles a small garden which also has statues and sculptures within.

Noguchi was a Japanese-American artist who was born in Los Angeles and began his formal art training at the Leonardo da Vinci art school in New York City. He continued his studies while traveling to spend time with notable artists. He traveled to London, Paris, Peking, and Tokyo. Throughout, Noguchi learned by sculpting materials like wood, steel, stone, and created many different pieces. He is also known for creating furniture pieces as well as a number of stage sets. Noguchi met R. Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) in 1929 and the two were close friends. He was awarded the National Medal of the Arts in 1987. One of the most recognizable pieces is the Red Cube which is located outside of the HSBC building in New York City.

The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum is the entity that maintains the Museum and the Noguchi works. Their mission is two-fold: to encourage a deeper understanding and awareness of Noguchi's works and to encourage arts in the community. Some support comes from public funds given by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

The Museum has many of Noguchi's artworks. These include Helix of the Endless (1985), Venus (1980), She (1970), Magic Ring (1970), My Mu (1950), Pink Jizo (1960), and dozens of others. Running through October 2010 the Exhibition "Noguchi ReINstalled'' is in place. This exhibition presents the entirety of Noguchi's collection on display. In previous years, exhibitions have been held on a variety of topics including: "From Plaster to Stone'' which explored Noguchi's use of paper maquettes when creating his stone sculptures and "The Full Figure'' which features Noguchi's portrait busts including Undine.

Free gallery lecture tours are at 2:00 pm, Wednesday through Sunday, and are open to all individual visitors. Tours for groups of at least ten persons are available. These tours are conducted by Museum educators Noguchi's was interested in the viewer's personal experience of the Museum and so guests are encouraged to share their observations. The tours last roughly an hour and are offered in English, Japanese and Spanish. Interested parties can contact 718-204-7088, ext. 205 for more information.

The Museum is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Its hours for Wednesday through Friday are 10am - 5pm. On Saturday and Sunday the Museum is open 11am - 6pm. Admission for adults is $10, $5 for senior citizens and students with a valid ID, and free for NYC public high school students with a valid ID, and children under 12. On the first Friday of every month, the admission fee is at the discretion of the visitor.

Cell phones and video recording devices are not permitted. The Museum is wheelchair accessible.