Over the next several years, artist Danh Vo will transform the Found Space into an intimate social environment in which visitors can slow down and spend time.
For the first phase, Vo created structures that act as flexible display systems. The initial showcase features an array of Akari light sculptures by Japanese American artist Isamu Noguchi, complemented by a selection of tropical plants. The term Akari, meaning ‘light’ or ‘illumination’ in Japanese, refers to a group of more than 100 sculptural lighting designs Noguchi created between 1951 and 1986. Noguchi drew inspiration from traditional lanterns made in Japan’s Gifu prefecture from mulberry bark paper and bamboo. Akari sculptures are affordable works of art as well as functional lamps for homes. Noguchi’s diverse creative practice, straddling sculpture, design, and architecture, resonates with Vo’ s interest in how objects carry multiple stories and meanings.
Danh Vo (b. 1975, Vietnam) uses found objects and contexts to consider the play of intimacy and power across time. His installations have a spatial and aesthetic ease and often make collaborators of artists, friends, and family. Vo sees desire as key to how cultures persuade, resist, and adapt. In his work beauty is a key to the making and unmaking of identity.
Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988, United States) was a pioneering sculptor, designer, and landscape architect. He incorporated diverse cultural influences into his works, such as Chinese calligraphy, Japanese ceramics, and Italian marble forms. He created many innovative public projects, including gardens, fountains, and playgrounds (like M+ Playscape on the North Roof Garden), based on principles of accessibility and discovery.
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