Japanese architect to stage retrospective in his own work

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Renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando will stage a retrospective in the Pearl Art Museum when it opens in December in Shanghai, making it the architect's first exhibition in a museum building that he himself designed.

Tadao Ando was born in 1941 in Osaka, Japan. The self-taught architect won the Pritzker Prize for architecture – the biggest award in the field – in 1995.

His works are known for the creative use of natural light and for structures that follow natural forms. The Shanghai Poly Grand Theater, for example, was the first theater in Shanghai to have a waterfront view as it sits next to the Yuanxiang Lake in Jiading district.

Pearl Art Museum is Tadao Ando's fourth building in Shanghai following Shanghai Poly Theater, Aurora Museum and Shanghai International Design Center.

The Pearl Art Museum covers an area of nearly 4,000 square meters on Hongjing Road in Minhang District. The oval-shaped building features both a bookstore and an art museum to serve as a complex space of culture and art.

A model of the Pearl Art Museum. /Photo via kankannews.com

Light plays an important element in the project. That's why Ando has named it the "Light Space." "It's just like covering a normal building with an 'egg,' creating new effects of light and shade inside. An egg symbolizes hope and life, and the design embraces the light of life," said Ando.

In the museum's opening exhibition, visitors will get to see models, paintings, home designs, glass art and photographic works. More than 200 books and documents will also be on display.

"Visitors will get to see Ando's talents beyond an architect. He's a painter and also an author. The design of Light Space makes it an attraction in its own right, and will be used to host exhibitions combining culture, art and reading," said Gao Jian, the curator of the Pearl Art Museum.

The exhibition will run from December 30 to May 20, 2018.

Ando's other masterpieces include Church of Light in Osaka, Church on the Water in Hokkaido, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth in the United States, as well as the restoration of Venice's old customs building.

1074km