Isamu Noguchi's interest in the landscape generated individual sculptures as well as gardens and playgrounds. Beginning in 1968 at his studio in Japan, Noguchi began a group of horizontal sculptures of granite, miniature landscapes that condense distance in the manner of the Zen meditation garden. Some of these works sit directly on the ground, and others are placed on elevated bases to form table-like sculptures. Noguchi also carved table sculptures of marble in Italy .