Exhibition Tour: Noguchi to Asawa: Designing Postwar America

Noguchi to Asawa: Designing Postwar America is open now at the Barnes Foundation, running from September 20, 2026, through January 10, 2027, in the Roberts Gallery. It's the first exhibition of its kind to look at how the forced incarceration of Japanese and Japanese American families during World War II shaped modern art and design in the United States. The show is conceived and curated by Barnes curator Cindy Kang.

Around the room, you'll find work by six artists and designers who helped define the look of mid-century America: Isamu Noguchi, George Nakashima, Leo Amino, S. Neil Fujita, Kay Sekimachi, and Ruth Asawa. There's a generational split that's worth paying attention to: the older group had already established their practices before the 1942 relocations, while the younger artists received their early training inside the camps. Seeing them together in one space lets you trace how that history worked its way into the furniture, the sculpture, and the design that came out of the postwar years.

The exhibition is part of Philadelphia's yearlong commemoration of America's 250th anniversary. The Barnes Foundation itself was founded by Dr. Albert C. Barnes in 1922 and holds one of the world's finest collections of Impressionist and modern art, so this sits right in its wheelhouse. If you're already planning a trip to the museum, this is a good reason to make it a longer visit.

Tickets are $30 for adults and $28 for seniors, and they're good for two consecutive days, so you can come back for a second look without paying twice. Students get in for $5, and members go free. The show runs through January 10, 2027, in the Roberts Gallery.