Chichu Art Museum

Chichu means “under the earth” in Japanese; a particularly apt name for this unusual gallery which sits almost entirely underground.

  • Words: Philip Jodidio
  • Photography: Kaori Ichikawa

Tadao Ando began working on the small island of Naoshima in Japan’s Inland Sea in 1990 when he completed the Benesse House Museum and Hotel. Since then, he has built repeatedly on the island for the same client. Located on a hillside just opposite Benesse House, the Chichu Museum, which opened to the public in July 2004, was created for a small group of art works by James Turrell, Walter De Maria and Claude Monet.

Chichu means “under the earth” in Japanese, and this unusual structure is almost entirely underground because of local environmental protection laws. The exhibition Tadao Ando – The Challenge, which features works from Naoshima as well as other buildings by the Japanese master, is being held at the Armani Silos in Milan until 28 July 2019.

Philip Jodidio is the author of Tadao Ando, Complete Works, 1975-Today (Taschen, 2018).

Article taken from
Articles

Further Reading

The Legacy of the Gaddafis

To what extent does Libya’s former dictator continue to extend the tentacles of power eight years after his death?

Matthew Alexander Henson

Matthew Henson was one of the greatest Arctic explorers of his time, yet prejudice forced him to live in obscurity.

Up Close: Ergol #6

Photographer Vincent Fournier’s ‘Space Project’ series displays a fascination with space through an archive of the most significant hubs in the world.

Life. Limitless.

Taking its cue from T.S. Eliot’s quote “We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time”, Life. Limitless. is a collaboration between Clarks and Land Rover.

The Kombai

Oliver Steeds describes the fast-changing world of the tree-dwelling Kombai tribe in Papua New Guinea, whose members are as fond of wisecracks as they are of the Sago grub.

Story Island

Despite Iceland’s small population of 331,380, the average print run for fiction is 1,000 copies – a per capita equivalent of one million in the USA.
Browse by Category