On Aug. 28, the Mennello Museum of American Art presents its latest exhibit, “Metal the Mirror,” featuring nine steel sculptures by Japanese American artist Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988). Organized by Art Bridges, the showcase returns to Central Florida for the first time in over 20 years. This is the museum’s first large-scale indoor sculpture show, and the Mennello is the only venue hosting this touring exhibit in the Southeast.
“Noguchi’s work is being reconsidered across the country right now, and Orlando should be part of that conversation,” wrote Shannon Fitzgerald, executive director of the Mennello Museum of American Art. “He spent a career refusing the lines the rest of us draw — between sculpture and design, between East and West, between art and daily life. These nine works make that argument in a single room, and they make it at close range, in surfaces that hold your reflection while you look.”
Sculptor Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988) created “Cloud Mountain,” 1982–83, from hot-dipped galvanized steel. (COURTESY OF CHARLES WHITE /JWPICTURES)
Each sculpture — produced near the end of Noguchi’s six-decade career — is cut from a single sheet of steel with a plasma torch. Then, once folded and submerged in boiling zinc, the process leaves blotched but highly reflective surfaces that alter as time marches on. Paired with the sculptures, visitors can explore the Mennello Museum’s Isamu Noguchi Education and Resource Room, which expands on Noguchi’s life and legacy.
The opening reception takes place Friday, Aug. 28, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., and includes Japanese light bites and traditional music by Friends of Koto.
For more information about the showcase, visit the museum’s website at MennelloMuseum.org.