About Exhibition
This exhibition contains four sections
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Tadao Ando has been at the forefront of architectural activities from the 1970s to the present. Tadao Ando’ s works are scattered all over the world, and he is highly acclaimed for the high quality of the spaces he creates for each location, but his greatest characteristic is the consistency of his designphilosophy. His work ranges from fundamental themes such as light and geometry, which he honed through his early residential works, to urban architectural techniques that suggestthe traditional Japanese concept of"'ma" (space), to regionalist architecture with original ideas that create new relationships in response to the context of the place. Here, we try to approach the essence of Tadao Ando's thinking which continues to this day with the most fundamental starting point of"light".
When looking at Tadao Ando’s public works, the theme of "LANDSCAPE GENESIS" contrasts with the axis of "AN URBAN CHALLENGE", Landscape here does not have a myopic meaning such as landscape design, but is a concept that encompasses a variety of values, including the memories of the community that has been cultivated in the place. After carefully reading the landscape, Ando uses creative architectural techniques to reveal the identity and create new values inthe place. This section introduces the process of two works in Shanghai, symbolizing ANDO architecture through "dialogue" with places.
It is said that modern times are no longer the age of religion. What constitutes the foundation of today's society is not religion but science and technology indeed. However, despite this, people still turn to religion for help. The importance of this "prayer space" for people to live together has no tchanged.Therefore, what is required is the performance of spiritual depth beyond function. So Ando pursues the main geometric form. lt is expected that the huge natural debris and its vitality reflected in the scale-free space can arouse the power of human soul.
Tadao Ando: Dialogue
DIALOGUE
Like anything manmade, works of architecture, too, will weather and someday perish. While the history of architecture can be described as a record of humanity's efforts to resist this inevitability, what l wish to create is an architecture that will live on eternally-not in substance or form, but as memories within people's hearts.
To achieve this, l have been attempting to thoroughly purge my architecture of all things in order to create blank canvases. When touched by light and wind, these blank "voids' become imbued with life. When inserted into a city, they can spark unexpected and exciting happenings. When set against an age-old brick wall, they should accentuate the richness of time as it flows from the past to the present and into the future. And when melded into the natural landscape, they will form microcosms with no visible boundaries.
As architecture encounters various phenomena, it evokes new dialogues. lt is these dialogues that speak to people's souls. How can l shape these dialogues to be more intense and more fruitful? There is no single answer to this question as every project has its own unique context.This is what makes architecture challenging.This is why it is fun.
This exhibition introduces my work centered on "dialogue" through various media. As the opening exhibition of Jiayuanhai Art Museum, which was born after the process of symbolizing "dialogue", l feel proud and lucky. l hope that the time spent in this place will become an opportunity for visitors to think about the relationship between human life and nature, places and history.
—Tadao Ando
Tadao Ando
Dialogues
Apr 30 - Sep 01, 2024
Tadao Ando continues to ponder the states of different stages of his life, responding to the present with "challenge" and "youth". The exhibition, named "Dialogue", reflects the master's self-portrait of life and the "kizuna" (绊, meaning "bond", "tie" or "connection" in Chinese) with architecture, an art on which he has relied for half a century, always centering on "dialogue".
Taking "dialogue" as the core, the exhibition is divided into four chapters: "Archetype of Light", "Reflection on Place", "Symbiosis with Nature", and "Reflection on Time". It also reproduces one of Tadao Ando's classic works, the "Church of the Light", for an authentic spatial experience. Together with the art installations of "House in Sumiyoshi" and "Green Apple", these three pieces are presented at the exhibition.
Tadao Ando
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Tadao Ando regards his work as contextualist and emphasizes that his existence is only a part of the relationship between the history of architecture. This attitude is most evident in his work on the theme of revitalization of old buildings. Here, Ando pays respect to the time that has been engraved on the existing building and expends a great deal of energy in preserving it as a memory, while at the same tim eattempting to create a completely new contemporary space within it. lt is hoped that the dialogue between the old and the new evoked therein will have the power to connect time from the past to the future. The two sets of works introduced here are at the forefront of ANDO's architectural genealogy brought by the "dialogue with history"!