Out of this world: Tom Sachs takes cosmic tea at the Noguchi Museum

Artist Tom Sachs’ new exhibition at Long Island City's Noguchi Museum combines his signature madcap bricolage with Isamu Noguchi’s serene monolithic sculptures – an improbable intersection of space travel, tea ceremony, Americana and Noguchi.
‘Noguchi said, "To be hybrid is to be the future,"' says Sachs. ‘He was American and Japanese; he was of the ancient path as well as the future. My installation is built around his late-basalt sculptures, which in turn become the setting for it.’
‘Tea Ceremony’ is considered the sequel to ‘Space Program Mars’, an immersive show Sachs created at New York’s Park Avenue Armory in 2012, for which he subsequently created a film, A Space Program, on view at Manhattan’s Metrograph theatre. At the end of the film (spoiler alert), a pair of astronauts resolve their differences by engaging in a tea ceremony in a teahouse on the space ship. The teahouse, as well as other ephemera from ‘Space Program Mars’, became the basis for ‘Tea Ceremony’, which evolved over the course of about 18 months between Sachs’ studio and Noguchi Museum curator Dakin Hart. It is the first single outside artist show at the museum.
Sachs made each of the tea ceremony’s chanoyu or accoutrements, including over 300 tea bowls, whisks, a hand-washing station, gates, tea boxes, 'samurai' helmet, charcoal brazier and koi pond. A bronze bonsai sculpture made from over 3,500 cast q-tips, tampon cases, toothbrushes and enema nozzles is one of Sachs’s most elaborate constructs. ‘Tom is trying to transcend the verisimilitude that is popular in the art world right now,’ says Hart. ‘Tom doesn’t fake anything – he builds real things and everything here is fully-functioning.’ Periodically throughout the show, real tea ceremonies will be performed for visitors; but even those who don’t participate in a ceremony can imbibe a sense of zen and otherworldliness as they move through the human-scale exhibition, which winds across the museum’s first floor and garden.
‘The tea ceremony is about tranquility, harmony and respect,’ says Sachs. ‘I have elevated it or debased it to represent the values of my studio – part of respect is disrespect.’
‘Noguchi said, "To be hybrid is to be the future." He was American and Japanese; he was of the ancient path as well as the future,' says Sachs.
'My installation is built around his late-basalt sculptures, which in turn become the setting for it,’ says Sachs.
Guests are offered a bowl with hot coals to warm their hands. Pictured right: Tom Sachs collecting water for use in the 'Tea Ceremony'.
‘Tea Ceremony’ is considered the sequel to ‘Space Program Mars’, an immersive show Sachs created at New York’s Park Avenue Armory in 2012, for which he subsequently created a film. At the end of the film (spoiler alert), a pair of astronauts resolve their differences by engaging in a tea ceremony in a teahouse on the space ship
The teahouse, as well as other ephemera from ‘Space Program Mars’, became the basis for ‘Tea Ceremony’.
Sachs made each of the tea ceremony’s accoutrements, including over 300 tea bowls, whisks, a hand-washing station, gates, tea boxes, 'samurai' helmet, charcoal brazier and koi pond
The exhibition evolved over the course of about 18 months between Sachs’ studio and Noguchi Museum curator Dakin Hart. It is the first single outside artist show at the museum.
INFORMATION
’Tea Ceremony’ is on view until 24 July. For more information visit the Noguchi Museum’s website
ADDRESS
Noguchi Museum
9-01 33rd Road
Long Island City,
New York, 11106
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
-
Byredo holiday collection draws inspiration from Wim Wenders and Georgia O’Keefe
Byredo’s creative image director Lucia Pica speaks to Wallpaper* in an exclusive interview, revealing her off-kilter design process
By Mary Cleary Published
-
2024 Pantone Color of the Year is looking deliciously peachy
Peach Fuzz is Pantone Color of the Year – time to refeather your nest in a comforting hue?
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Design Miami 2023 explores how design responds to the world around us
Design Miami 2023 (until 10 December), curated by Anna Carnick, is guided by the theme of ‘Where We Stand’
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
Sheila Metzner’s jewel-toned fashion photography goes on show in Los Angeles
‘Sheila Metzner: From Life’ is at the Getty Center until 18 February 2024, including her richly toned fashion photography and still lifes; the artist tells us more
By Hunter Drohojowska-Philp Published
-
Takashi Murakami on his monsterizing San Francisco show
Takashi Murakami tells us of pandemic-inspired creatures, eye-popping flowers, and NFTs as he explains the making of his exhibition at Asian Art Museum in San Francisco
By Pei-Ru Keh Published
-
How to conquer the Atomic City: the story behind U2 at the new Las Vegas Sphere
U2:UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere redefines the 21st-century rock concert. We spoke to the band and its team about the genesis of this expansive art and music experience that marks the opening of the high-tech venue
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Ceramicist Jonathan Cross on crafting art from desert materials in the Mojave
Jonathan Cross’ flourishing practice incorporates local sand and stones from his base on the edge of Joshua Tree to create minimalist works with a unique patina
By Pei-Ru Keh Published
-
Ken Gun Min’s mixed-media montages reframe cultural influences and queer identity
South Korean-born, LA-based Ken Gun Min illusively combines painting, embroidery and illustration
By Pei-Ru Keh Published
-
Jack Pierson’s photographs and sculptures go on show in New York
Artist Jack Pierson draws on life experiences for a new show, ‘Pomegranates’, at Lisson Gallery, New York
By Hannah Silver Published
-
TikTok gets tangible: artist Devon Rodriguez opens his first exhibition, in New York
Devon Rodriguez, who until now has reserved his work for his 31 million TikTok followers, has opened his first exhibition at UTA Artist Space’s pop-up gallery in Chelsea, New York
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Man Ray’s sculptures go on show in New York
‘Man Ray: Other Objects’ opens at Luxembourg + Co, New York, revealing their author’s ‘artistic revolution’
By Hannah Silver Published