Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988)
Octetra
concrete and paint
88 ¼ by 91 ¾ by 53 ½ in.
224 by 233 by 135.8 cm.
Conceived in 1965, this work was executed in 2021.
On loan from The Noguchi Museum
In the 1960s Noguchi created Octetra, a system of truncated tetrahedra units that can be oriented and interlocked to create endlessly mutable landscapes for play. These sculptural play elements are deeply tied to Noguchi’s work and relationships in New York City. Octetra synthesizes the geometric poetry of Red Cube, which was created in the same year, with the logic of his play element networks devised for Riverside Park.
Octetra is also indebted to three individuals who Noguchi worked with in New York: his longtime friend Buckminster Fuller, whom he first met in the city in 1929 and who inspired his thinking about the fundamental structures of nature; architect Shoji Sadao, a valued collaborator (and later director of The Noguchi Museum), who helped engineer Octetra’s design; and visionary supporter Priscilla Morgan, who enmeshed the artist in her rich New York social network and first commissioned Octetra for the Spoleto Festival in Italy.
Visitors can enjoy Noguchi’s New York, on view at the Noguchi Museum in Queens until September 13, 2026. This exhibition examines Noguchi’s deep and dynamic relationship with New York City, exploring how its material, cultural, social, and political landscape indelibly transformed his artwork and thinking, and how he in turn transformed the city. It also highlights Noguchi’s unflagging attempts to give back by sculpting communal spaces for exploration and play—efforts often thwarted, most notably by the influential NYC Parks Commissioner Robert Moses.
