Akari Light Sculptures - Noguchi Shop

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Group Created with Sketch. Group Created with Sketch. NOGUCHI.ORG Akari Light Sculptures Akari 3A and 10A. Photo: Kevin Noble. ©INFGM / ARS Group 7 Created with Sketch. Video: The making of Akari at Ozeki & Co. Courtesy of Vitra.

In 1951 Isamu Noguchi visited the town of Gifu, Japan, known for its manufacture of lanterns and umbrellas from mulberry bark paper and bamboo. Noguchi designed the first of his lamps that would be produced by the traditional Gifu methods of construction. He called these works Akari, a term meaning light as illumination, but also implying the idea of weightlessness.

The fabrication of Akari in Japan at Ozeki & Co. since 1951 follows the traditional methods for Japanese Gifu lanterns. Each Akari is handcrafted beginning with the making of washi paper from the inner bark of the mulberry tree. Bamboo ribbing is stretched across sculptural molded wood forms. The washi paper is cut into strips and glued onto both sides of the framework. Once the glue has dried and the shape is set, the internal wooden form is disassembled and removed. The outcome is a resilient paper form, which can be collapsed and packed flat for shipping.

With the warm glow of light cast through handmade paper on a bamboo frame, Isamu Noguchi utilized traditional Japanese materials to bring modern design to the home. Like the beauty of falling leaves and the cherry blossom, Noguchi wrote, Akari are “poetic, ephemeral, and tentative.” And he was fond of saying, “All that you require to start a home are a room, a tatami, and Akari.”

Table

Akari 1A Akari 1AD Akari 1AG Akari 1AR Akari 1AS Akari 1AT Akari 1AV Akari 1AY Akari 1N Akari 1P Out of stock Akari 20N Akari 22N Akari 24N only 6 left Akari 26N Out of stock Akari 2A Akari 2A UKAI Akari 2N Akari 2P Akari 2X Out of stock Akari 3A Akari 3A UKAI Akari 3AB Akari 3AD Akari 3AR Akari 3AV Akari 3X Out of stock Akari 4A Akari 4N Akari 5A Akari 5AD Akari 5N Akari 5X only 7 left Akari 6A Akari 6A IROHA Akari 7A Akari 7AD See More Akari 1A Akari 1AD Akari 1AG Akari 1AR Akari 1AS Akari 1AT Akari 1AV Akari 1AY Akari 1N Akari 1P Out of stock Akari 20N Akari 22N Akari 24N only 6 left Akari 26N Out of stock Akari 2A Akari 2A UKAI Akari 2N Akari 2P Akari 2X Out of stock Akari 3A Akari 3A UKAI Akari 3AB Akari 3AD Akari 3AR Akari 3AV Akari 3X Out of stock Akari 4A Akari 4N Akari 5A Akari 5AD Akari 5N Akari 5X only 7 left Akari 6A Akari 6A IROHA Akari 7A Akari 7AD Akari 9A Akari 9AD Akari 9AY Akari BB1-30DD By Request See More

Ceiling

Akari 15A Akari 16A Akari 17A Out of stock Akari 50EN Akari 70EN Out of stock Akari 95EN Out of stock Akari 21A Akari 23A Out of stock Akari 24A Akari 26A Akari 40DL Akari 30A Akari 45A Akari 55A Akari 75A Akari 120A Akari 30D Akari 37D Akari 45D Akari 55D Akari 60D only 7 left Akari 75D Akari 100D Akari 30F Akari 40F Akari 50F Akari 55F Akari 60F Akari 70F Akari 95F Out of stock Akari 125F Akari 30P Akari 31N only 6 left Akari 32N Akari 33N Out of stock Akari 33NW See More Akari 15A Akari 16A Akari 17A Out of stock Akari 50EN Akari 70EN Out of stock Akari 95EN Out of stock Akari 21A Akari 23A Out of stock Akari 24A Akari 26A Akari 40DL Akari 30A Akari 45A Akari 55A Akari 75A Akari 120A Akari 30D Akari 37D Akari 45D Akari 55D Akari 60D only 7 left Akari 75D Akari 100D Akari 30F Akari 40F Akari 50F Akari 55F Akari 60F Akari 70F Akari 95F Out of stock Akari 125F Akari 30P Akari 31N only 6 left Akari 32N Akari 33N Out of stock Akari 33NW Akari 33X Akari 35N only 9 left Akari 36N only 1 left Akari 40XP See More

Floor

Akari 10A Akari 10D Akari 12A Out of stock Akari 13A Akari 14A Akari 21N only 2 left Akari 23N Akari 25N only 5 left Akari 27N Akari UF3-DL Akari UF3-FF Akari UF3-H Akari UF3-L6 Akari UF3-Q Out of stock Akari UF3-S Akari UF3-U Akari UF3-XN Akari UF4-31N Akari UF4-33N Akari UF4-J1 Akari UF4-L5 Akari UF4-L6 Akari UF4-L8 only 2 left Akari UF4-L9 Akari UF4-L10 Akari UF5-31NW Akari UF5-32N Akari UF5-33NW only 9 left Akari BB3-70XN By request Akari BB3-V2 By request Akari BB3-X3 By request Akari BB3-YA1 By request Akari BB3-33S By request Akari BB3-55FF By request Akari BB3-70FF By request Akari BB3-55DD By request See More Akari 10A Akari 10D Akari 12A Out of stock Akari 13A Akari 14A Akari 21N only 2 left Akari 23N Akari 25N only 5 left Akari 27N Akari UF3-DL Akari UF3-FF Akari UF3-H Akari UF3-L6 Akari UF3-Q Out of stock Akari UF3-S Akari UF3-U Akari UF3-XN Akari UF4-31N Akari UF4-33N Akari UF4-J1 Akari UF4-L5 Akari UF4-L6 Akari UF4-L8 only 2 left Akari UF4-L9 Akari UF4-L10 Akari UF5-31NW Akari UF5-32N Akari UF5-33NW only 9 left Akari BB3-70XN By request Akari BB3-V2 By request Akari BB3-X3 By request Akari BB3-YA1 By request Akari BB3-33S By request Akari BB3-55FF By request Akari BB3-70FF By request Akari BB3-55DD By request Akari BB3-75DD By request Akari BB3-75DL By request Akari 33S Shade Akari 55DD Shade See More History of Akari Light Sculptures

Learn more about the history of Akari, one of Isamu Noguchi’s most successful efforts “to bring sculpture into a more direct involvement with the common experience of living.”

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