Curator Conversation: Isamu Noguchi: “I am not a Designer”

Ruthie Dibble. Ruthie Dibble, Ph.D., is PEM’s first Robert N. Shapiro Curator of American Decorative Art. Most recently serving as curator at the Chipstone Foundation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Dibble specializes in American and British decorative arts from the 18th century to the present. Her curatorial work expands the field of American decorative arts by examining the global circulation of objects, the relationship between craft and identity and the role of craftspeople as agents of social change. Emphasizing collaboration and community connection, Dibble’s curatorial projects empower diverse perspectives and audiences.

Monica Obniski. Monica Obniski is the Curator of Decorative Arts and Design at the High Museum of Art, where she is responsible for collecting, exhibiting and programming a global collection of decorative arts and design, which includes a yearly piazza design commission, most recently with Bryony Roberts, Tanya Aguiñiga, Sabine Marcelis and gt2p. Her curatorial practice engages social issues and is rooted in architecture and design history. Obniski’s most recent projects include Scandinavian Design and the United States (2020-23), Stephen Burks: Shelter in Place (2022-24), Sonya Clark: We Are Each Other (2023-24) and Isamu Noguchi: “I am not a designer” (2026-27).  She has held curatorial posts at the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Marin R. Sullivan. Marin R. Sullivan, Ph.D., is a Chicago-based art historian, curator, consultant, educator and writer. She specializes in the histories of modern and contemporary sculpture, especially its interdisciplinary, intermedial dialogues with photography, design and the built environment. She is the author of Sculptural Materiality in the Age of Conceptualism and has edited and contributed to publications including American Art, Art History, History of Photography, the Journal of Curatorial Studies, and Sculpture Journal. Sullivan is the Director of Research and Programs for the George Rickey Foundation and was previously Director Research for the Harry Bertoia Foundation. Recent curatorial projects include Harry Bertoia: Sculpting Mid-Century Modern Life (Nasher Sculpture Center), Edgar Miller: Anti-Modern, 1917-1967 (DePaul Art Museum) and Luftwerk: COLORSCAPES (Cheekwood Estate & Gardens). Sullivan is currently at work on a biography of the artist-designer Claire Falkenstein.