MASATOSHI IZUMI

IZUMI--Masatoshi. The Board of Trustees and staff of The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, New York, mourn the loss of Masatoshi Izumi, president of the Isamu Noguchi Foundation of Japan and one of Isamu Noguchi's most essential collaborators. Mr. Izumi passed away on September 13. A lifelong stonecutter and celebrated sculptor in his later years, he worked with Noguchi over two decades on sculptures and landscapes including Black Sun in Seattle and Momo Taro for Storm King Art Center. In the late 1960s he reconstructed a house for Noguchi's residence and established Noguchi's atelier in Mure, Kagawa Prefecture. After Noguchi's death, he saw his projects through to completion and in 1999, opened Noguchi's studio to the public as the Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum Japan. Mr. Izumi shared with Noguchi a profound belief in communing directly with nature through working with stone. We are heartbroken at his passing and extend our condolences to his family and our friends at the Isamu Noguchi Foundation of Japan.