Museum report·Philadelphia
Barnes Foundation Opens Show on Japanese American Artists and Postwar Design
The Barnes Foundation opened Noguchi to Asawa: Designing Postwar America on September 20, 2026, on six Japanese American artists shaped by wartime incarceration.
The Barnes Foundation opened Noguchi to Asawa: Designing Postwar America on September 20, 2026, an exhibition exploring how Japanese American artists shaped modern American art and design. The show places Isamu Noguchi, Ruth Asawa, Leo Amino, George Nakashima, Kay Sekimachi and graphic designer S. Neil Fujita in the context of World War II incarceration. It runs through January 10, 2027. Curated by Cindy Kang, the exhibition asks whether the roots of American modernism extend into the soil of the incarceration camps. Fujita's album covers for Miles Davis, Charles Mingus and Dave Brubeck anchor the show's look at commercial design.
