Philadelphia art lovers have a groundbreaking reason to visit the Barnes Foundation this season: Noguchi to Asawa: Designing Postwar America, on view September 20, 2026 through January 10, 2027 in the Roberts Gallery.
The exhibition is the first to explore how Japanese American artists transformed the aesthetic landscape of postwar America. It reconsiders 20th-century art and design within the context of Japanese and Japanese American incarceration during World War II and the broader history of Asian America, revealing how this tumultuous era formed a foundation for modern art and design in the United States.
Beauty and craftsmanship are hallmarks of midcentury Japanese American art and design. From Isamu Noguchi’s iconic furniture to Ruth Asawa’s inventive wire sculptures, the show celebrates how Japanese American artists reshaped American creativity with elegance and innovation.
Conceived and curated by Cindy Kang, curator at the Barnes, this illuminating exhibition offers a fresh, essential perspective on American art history. A powerful and uplifting cultural experience in Philadelphia this fall and winter.
Photo: Barnes Foundation
