YOU’RE INVITED
OPENING RECEPTION AND LANTERN CELEBRATION
Friday, August 28, 2026
MEMBERS-ONLY PREVIEW
5:30 – 6:30 PM
Bites & Cash Bar by Runway Catering
PUBLIC RECEPTION
6:30 – 8:00 PM
In Celebration of Obon, the Japanese summer festival of honoring ancestors and the cycle of life Paper Lantern activites
Traditional Japanese Harp Music by Friends of Koto
FREE FOR MEMBERS | $10 Admission
The Opening Reception for Isamu Noguchi: Metal the Mirror on August 28, 2026, coincides with the Obon Festival. This traditional Japanese Buddhist celebration honors the spirits of ancestors and the cycle of life through floating paper lanterns. The festival likely influenced Noguchi’s work, especially his fascination with the dance of the Awa Odori, the symbolism of light and reflection, and communal space. Visitors will be invited to participate in creating and hanging floating lanterns within the museum’s scenic sculpture garden, symbolizing communal remembrance and spiritual reflection. The evening will be enriched by a live performance from a Koto Duo, a traditional Japanese musical ensemble, promoting cultural dialogue and connection through authentic artistic expression. This opening event sets the tone for Metal the Mirror, emphasizing its spiritual aspects and inviting the local community into a meaningful, culturally immersive experience.
Metal the Mirror curator Julia Mun will join us for the opening reception and a curatorial talk the following day, Saturday, August 29th at 2 P.M.
ISAMU NOGUCHI: METAL THE MIRROR
(August 28, 2026 - February 28, 2027)
Isamu Noguchi: Metal the Mirror is an engaging traveling exhibition organized by Art Bridges, showcasing nine galvanized steel sculptures created by Noguchi between 1982 and 1983. These pieces, with their reflective surfaces and changing patinas, delve into themes of duality, reflecting Noguchi's identity as a Japanese American. Recognized as one of the twentieth century’s most influential and critically praised sculptors, Noguchi’s work combines formal harmony with conceptual contrasts—melding traditional and contemporary ideas, art and design, industry and nature. His sculptures blend the dual aspects of his heritage, utilizing steel—a distinctly American material—while incorporating Japanese origami techniques through cut-and-folded metal forms.
The Mennello Museum is the first and only museum in the Southeast to present Noguchi’s galvanized steel sculpture.
The Noguchi Education and Resource Room features Noguchi’s signature design coffee table, a small library, and a selection of Noguchi’s Akari light sculptures and Akari prints from the Noguchi Museum.
