Isamu Noguchi: I Am Not a Designer

Coinciding with Isamu Noguchi: I am not a designer, a major traveling retrospective organized by the High Museum of Art, Atlanta (on view there April 10–August 2, 2026), this comprehensive volume offers a new perspective on the work of Noguchi, whose remarkable design and artistic legacy encompasses sculpture, lighting, furniture, ceramics, public plazas, and garden design.

2026 also marked the fiftieth anniversary of Playscapes, a Noguchi-designed playground located just a few blocks from the High. Though Noguchi claimed he was not a designer, the High Museum approaches his work through the design lens, bringing to light many potently prescient and under-explored aspects of his practice. Noguchi exemplified the interdisciplinary, social-minded approach to the role of artist-designer, and his never-ending search for modes of expression reflected an unusually expansive view that extended across everything from sculpture, furniture, and lighting to landscapes, stage sets, and kitchen timers.

The book features more than twenty in-depth essays and shorter vignettes by an impressive international roster of scholars and curators, addressing all aspects of Noguchi’s design practice. In addition, a rich and diverse selection of more than 250 archival and contemporary images depict the works in the exhibition as well as illuminate and expand on Noguchi’s exceptional career.