The museum houses works by artists Walter De Maria, James Turrell and Claude Monet, five of whose ‘Water Lilies’ paintings (1914–26) are displayed in a superb, naturally lit space that visitors may only enter after donning a pair of white slippers. The interior, in typical Ando style, is characterized by clean concrete lines and tricks of perception: a counterpoint to, and inventive framing device for, the idyllic blooming gardens that surround the site. The museum’s footprint is clearly visible from a bird’s-eye view, however, which also reveals the enormous skylights – its sole source of light. It’s difficult to see Chichu Art Museum when you’re not inside it, since the structure is mostly buried underground. Courtesy and photograph: Mitsumasa Fujitsuka from Tadao Ando Endeavors (Flammarion, 2019)
Inside, you are plunged into what initially seems like total darkness but, as your eyes adjust, the faint glow of a blue twilight – Turrell’s Backside of the Moon (1999) – becomes clearer with each passing minute.Ĭhichu Art Museum, Naoshima, 2004. The building looks, from the outside, like any other traditional charcoal-charred house on the island – albeit a little larger than normal. Courtesy: Wikimedia CommonsĪndo collaborated with US artist James Turrell for Minamidera, his third project on Naoshima. Outside, polka-dot pumpkins by legendary Japanese artist Yayoi Kusuma border the scenic shoreline. Inside, an impressive array of works by renowned Western and Japanese contemporary artists – from Andy Warhol to Jannis Kounellis and Hiroshi Sugimoto – is exhibited in the white gallery spaces and sparse concrete rooms. Courtesy and photograph: Kaori Ichikawa from Tadao Ando Endeavors (Flammarion, 2019)Īn art museum-meets-luxury-hotel, Benesse House Museum sits on the southern coast of Naoshima island.
MINIMALIST JAPANESE ART SERIES
However, spaced all along its picturesque coastline is a series of world-class museums designed by legendary Japanese architect Tadao Ando – as impressive as any institution you might find in a major urban centre.īenesse House Museum, Naoshima, 1992. Accessible only by boat and more than five hours from Tokyo, the small island is an unlikely pilgrimage site for art tourists. Off the coast of the Japan’s southerly Kagawa prefecture, in the Seto Inland Sea, lies the island of Naoshima.
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