Tom Sachs: Tea Ceremony

The Noguchi Museum marks its 30^th anniversary with a unique exhibition by Tom Sachs. It’s the first time a show by a single artist other than Isamu Noguchi is curated at the museum. Tom Sachs: Tea Ceremony deconstructs the classic ritual and re-imagines it through the artist’s signature bricolage works. Upon entering the museum, visitors are offered hot coal bowls to warm up their hands. It’s the inaugural step in a unique exhibition that blends viewer participation with performance art and sculpture, spreading throughout the interior the building and reaching the garden.

The exhibition was developed across a period of 18 months, in a collaboration between the artist and the curator of the museum, Dakin Hart. There’s a tea house where Tom Sachs and a friend will perform tea ceremonies throughout the show, for two or three guests, with the visitors able to witness the ritual freely, as the walls of the structure will be temporarily removed. Lanterns, a wash basin, a Koi pond, and a bronze bonsai tree made of 3,600 individually welded objects that include q-tips and brushes create a unique landscape. Over 300 objects were made by the artist to accompany the alternative tea ceremony, from bowls and vases, to tea boxes and scroll paintings, among others. On a wall, a HD video plays images of Mt. Fuji, with other installations from Sachs’ “Space Program 2.0: Mars” also included in the show. Zen tranquility, outer space, and surrealism combine in an exhibition that will immerse visitors into the captivating world of this celebrated artist. You can visit Tea Ceremony until the 24^th of July, at The Noguchi Museum in Long Island City, New York. Images by renowned photographer and director Mario Sorrenti and by art photographer Genevieve Hanson.