See the Genius of Tadao Ando at this Exhibit
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Tadao Ando (b. Osaka, Japan 1941) is introduced as a “self-taught architect” at the start of “Youth”, his retrospective at Minsheng Art Museum Beijing. I shook my head in disbelief —as if anyone could teach themselves architecture!
Peeking into the mind of a genius
Well, Tadao Ando did. And he’s amassed an extensive award list from the Alvar Aalto Medal in 1985, to the Pritzker Prize in 1995 and the Isamu Noguchi Award in 2016. Minsheng Art Museum Beijing is the fifth destination of his global retrospective exhibition, China’s most comprehensive devoted to Ando’s career thus far. Jointly curated by Takaaki Mizutani and Ma Weidong, “Youth” will be open to visitors until Jan 9. Get ready for your visit with this primer!
Architectural grandeur in miniature
The exhibition of the so-called “poet of fair-faced concrete” is divided in four sections evenly split between both floors: Primitive Shapes of Space, An Urban Challenge, Landscape Genesis and A Dialogue with History. Ando’s own design studio, Tadao Ando Architect & Associates, effectively engaged with the museum’s architectural features to reconfigure its spatial structure.
The UNESCO Meditation Space
At Section 1, visitors are greeted by a small reproduction of Ando’s iconic autographed Green Apple. The sculpture is inspired by American poet Samuel Ullman’s homonymous “Youth”, a favourite of Ando with the statement that “youth is not a time of life”. Here you’ll stroll through works from the first half of Ando’s career, from 1969 to the mid-1990s.The consistent essence of his design philosophy came to be during this period, when his core themes of light and geometry emerged through early residential works such as Tomishima House, Manabe House, Koshino House and Rokko Housing. Ando’s urban architectural techniques interact with the traditional Japanese concept of “ma” (space), while his approach to landscape and architecture, categorized as a form of “critical regionalism”, has helped him spin unique takes on the contexts of his works’ locations.
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A sobering display of spirituality
Here I was pleased to check the exhibition’s focus on China, where the architect has a long-standing cooperation with the CA-Group since 2005, dotting cities with world-class works such as the Liangzhu Village Cultural Art Centre, the Shanghai Pearl Art Museum and the He Art Museum as well as dozens of ongoing projects like the Jiangsu Art Museum.
The Shanghai Poly Grand Theatre
The Naoshima suite is in fact the main realization of his understanding of landscape as an umbrella for a series of values surpassing the framework of architecture. I enjoyed learning how Ando encompassed community, identity and nature into a driving force that transformed Naoshima into a world-renowned art hotspot.
The organic art island of Naoshima
Not done yet! Section 4 is devoted to Ando’s renovation projects, from the late eighties to his ongoing work on the Parisian Bourse de Commerce, to be completed this year. A theme of “revitalization” is a constant here, with Ando creating novel contemporary spaces within previously existing buildings.
The Parisian Bourse de Commerce
It’s very close to 798 — the perfect entryway to an art-filled afternoon. Oh, and do remember: in accordance with pandemic regulations, visitors must book their visit in advance by scanning this handy QR code.
Minsheng Art Museum (北京民生現代美術館)
Universal Creative Park (directly opposite the North Gate to 798), 798 Art District, Chaoyang District
朝阳区798艺术区（北门对面）创新园
Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 10am-5pm
READ: Jump into 22 Art Street, Beijing's Other Arts District
Images: Ana Padilla Fornieles
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