Noguchi Museum Queens NY

Noguchi Museum

The Noguchi Museum is dedicated to a Japanese-American artist who worked in New York City for much of his life. It displays the largest collection of Isamu Noguchi’s masterpieces, including sculptures, design objects, models, and more, all drawn from the Museum’s permanent collection. This is the first museum in the United States to be founded by an artist during his lifetime and dedicated to his work. Click to book your Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn bus tour.

Collection and Exhibits

The Noguchi Museum comprises more than 27,000 square feet of gallery space on two floors. The Museum presents installations of Noguchi’s work as well as temporary exhibitions that include the work of other artists and designers, many of them active today.

Noguchi used simple and natural materials for his sculptures including granite, marble, other kinds of stone, and various types of wood to retain their organic beauty in the galleries. The sculpture garden provides a tranquil place to reflect upon nature and art.

History

From the 1920s onward, Noguchi spent time every year in New York City. In the early 1960s, he established a studio in Long Island City, Queens. In 1974, he purchased a vacant industrial building across the street from his studio, and in 1980 he bought the adjacent property to create the Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum (known today as The Noguchi Museum), which opened to the public in 1985. The Museum itself is one of the artist’s greatest works. The core feature of the newly established museum was a sculpture garden. Throughout his extensive career, Noguchi distinguished himself as one of the great sculptors and designers of the twentieth century.

Noguchi’s travels across the globe influenced his work in various mediums. In the last two decades of his life, he maintained a studio in both New York City and Japan. In 1988, Noguchi passed away in New York City. Since then, The Noguchi Museum has exhibited work by the founder as well as special exhibitions with other artists worldwide.

Visiting The Noguchi Museum

The Noguchi Museum is located in Long Island City, which is one of the largest neighborhoods in the borough of Queens. In fact, the nearby Roosevelt Island and skyline of Midtown Manhattan are clearly visible from Long Island City. Socrates Sculpture Park and Rainey Park enhance the overall atmosphere around the museum.

Located about a quarter mile away from the museum, the Broadway station is served by N and W trains of the NYC subway system. Note that the N/W stop at Broadway is currently closed and anticipated to be closed through February 2019. You can also take a ferry that stops at the Astoria terminal, which is just off the busy Vernon Boulevard. This ferry service offers direct links between various points in Queens and Lower Manhattan, including Wall Street. Numerous Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) bus lines may be used to reach and navigate the area near The Noguchi Museum.

Another interesting way to get to the museum is to take the Roosevelt Island Tramway. After getting off this aerial tramway, you’ll need to cross the Roosevelt Island Bridge to reach Long Island City. It is about a half-mile walk.

Location: 9-01 33rd Rd (at Vernon Boulevard), Long Island City, NY, 11106

Click here to visit The Noguchi Museum official website.

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