Tadao Ando – Architecture Bridging Time

amanaTIGP is pleased to present Tadao Ando’s exhibition, “Architecture Bridging Time”. The exhibition marks Ando’s first solo presentation at amanaTIGP and will feature a total of 22 works, including four from his new portfolio “ANDO BOX VII” published in correspondence to this exhibition, as well as two architectural models, a series of original drawings, and 15 photographic prints from “ANDO BOX VI” released in 2019.

“ANDO BOX VII” focuses on the renovation projects of two historic buildings: Punta della Dogana, the former Customs House of Venice originally built in the 17th century and the Bourse de Commerce, a Commodities Exchange built in the 18th century that was in operation until the beginning of the 21st century. Both of these buildings have been transformed from public institutions into exhibition spaces for contemporary art, centering on the private collection of François Pinault. For Ando, the renovation of buildings engraved with history is a theme that he has continued to engage with throughout his extensive career. In his renovation projects, Ando does not aim for reconciliation between the old and new. Instead, he acknowledges the independency of each space, acting as a mediator between the old and new to encourage a dialogue between them in his effort towards restoration. The elaborate details indicated in the drawings and prints, as well as the models reproduced on a 1/300 scale, serve to theoretically explain the structure of Ando’s architecture in the context of renovation.

“Culture flourishes from the accumulation of urban memory: the history of a collective inhabiting a certain place. Considering this, one could say that renovation – putting a hand to a structure to restore it – is far more than the simple recycling of architecture. It is an act of architectural creation in the truest sense.
In my mind’s eye, I see the pinnacle of renovation not as superficial revision or addition. I instead envision structures where the old and the new stand face to face as independent entities – where they engage in dialogue with one another. One way I seek this ideal is to painstakingly preserve the antiquated in its antiquated state, within which I insert a new space. I strive to create structures where the new nests within the old.
For this new space to function as ‘architecture within architecture,’ it must possess strength; it must be powerful enough to match the overwhelming presence of the old that envelops it. I place faith in the purity of primitive geometry, as found in the Platonic solids, as a source of such strength.
The extreme contrast between the new and the old naturally incites collision – it gives way to discord within that space. But I see no need for concern. Natural light, a being of time eternal, envelops their conflict with the hand of life; it sublimates their dynamic from one of discord to one of discourse.
And here, we see a bridging of time – from the past to the present, and into the future”. (Tadao Ando, “Architecture Bridging Time,” 2022)

The 15 photographic prints exhibited from “ANDO BOX VI” are photographs of the “The L that Ando had pursued over the course of his practice. Ando creates architecture in which light shines from all angles into exposed concrete spaces, which rather than relying on superficial ornate elements, attempt to place emphasis on bareness and simplicity. Making a clear distinction from academism, he traveled around the world on his own feet and gained experience through encountering various architecture. Recognized as a leading figure in contemporary architecture today, Ando has worked on a variety of projects to date, all the while pursuing light that is quiet and soft yet harbors a beauty so intense that it will live forever in people’s hearts, like the chapel Notre-Dame du Haut, which Ando mentions as having left an unforgettable impression on him. By engaging with Ando’s architecture through the medium of photography, which at times is referred to as the “art of light,” viewers are bestowed the opportunity to contemplate expressions of light as well as the meaning and significance they hold.

Tadao Ando, born in Osaka in 1941, is a self-taught architect. He established Tadao Ando Architect & Associates in 1969. Ando’s architecture is characterized by its use of concrete and uncompromising geometry that maintain a sense of tension, as well as a rich spatiality that is founded upon a dialogue with nature. He has been a visiting professor at Yale University, Columbia University, and Harvard University, and currently serves as Professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, where he taught from 1997.

Gallery hours Tue-Sat 12 – 6 pm, closed on Sun, Mon and National Holidays

The gallery will implement necessary measures to prevent coronavirus infections.

Exhibition Duration 09.07. – 13.08.2022

www.takaishiigallery.com

Location:
amanaTIGP
AXIS building 2F, 5-17-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku
106-0032 Tokyo
Japan