Isamu Noguchi is famous for eluding one singular artistic characterization. From set design, to furniture, to sculpture, to lighting, landscape and beyond, Noguchi sought to breach the boundaries between “high art” and the various applied arts, stating that it “is [his] opinion that sculptors as well as painters should not forever be concerned with pure art or meaningful art, but should inject their knowledge of form and matter into the everyday, usable designs of industry and commerce.” [1] Following this principle, Noguchi approached the design of this domestic object with the same manner as his monumental sculptures.

Noguchi’s Chess Table (IN-61) was originally designed for Julien Levy’s 1944 surrealist exhibition, The Imagery of Chess, organized and curated by none other than Marcel Duchamp and Max Ernst and was exhibited alongside works by Alexander Calder, Yves Tanguy, Man Ray, André Breton, amongst other influential artists. Chess Table (IN-61) synthesizes this ancient, serious game in a fun and playful manner. Chess Table (IN-61) is in many ways emblematic of the artist’s experience: Noguchi drew from the gestural profiles of Chinese calligraphy for the tabletop form and from Japanese joinery techniques for the base’s interlocking legs.