21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
Encyclopedia
The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa is a museum
of contemporary art
located in Kanazawa
, Ishikawa
, Japan
.
It was designed by Japanese architects Kazuyo Sejima
and Ryue Nishizawa
of the architect office SANAA in 2004. In October 2005, one year after its opening the Museum marked 1,570,000 visitors.
garden and the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art
. The building has a circular form, with a diameter of 112.5 metres. This shape aims to keep the appearance of the overall building volume low, to mitigate the scale of the project and allows access from multiple points of entry. The transparency of the building further manifests the wish to avoid the museum being perceived as a large, introverted mass.
The building includes community gathering spaces, such as a library, lecture hall, and children’s workshop, located on the periphery, and museum spaces in the middle. The exhibition areas comprise numerous galleries with multiple options for division, expansion, or concentration. The galleries are of various proportions and light conditions – from bright daylight through glass ceilings to spaces with no natural light source, their height ranging from 4 to 12 metres. The circulation spaces are designed to make them usable as additional exhibition areas. Four fully glazed internal courtyards, each unique in character, provide ample daylight to the center of the building and a fluent border between community spaces and museum spaces.
Artists in the collection are encouraged to produce site-specific
installations that become "closely associated with the Kanazawa area".
Collection artists include:
Francis Alys
, Matthew Barney
, Tony Cragg
, Olafur Eliasson
, Leandro Erlich, Isa Genzken
, Kojima Hisaya, Gordon Matta Clark, Peter Newman
, Carsten Nicolai, Giuseppe Penone
, Gerhard Richter
, Murayama Ruriko, Hiraki Sawa, Atsuko Tanaka
, James Turrell
, Patrick Tuttofuoco, Anne Wilson
, Suda Yoshihiro
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
of contemporary art
Contemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
located in Kanazawa
Kanazawa, Ishikawa
is the capital city of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan.-Geography, climate, and population:Kanazawa sits on the Sea of Japan, bordered by the Japan Alps, Hakusan National Park and Noto Peninsula National Park. The city sits between the Sai and Asano rivers. Its total area is 467.77 km².Kanazawa's...
, Ishikawa
Ishikawa Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island. The capital is Kanazawa.- History :Ishikawa was formed from the merger of Kaga Province and the smaller Noto Province.- Geography :Ishikawa is on the Sea of Japan coast...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
It was designed by Japanese architects Kazuyo Sejima
Kazuyo Sejima
is a Japanese architect. After studying at Japan Women's University and working in the office of Toyo Ito, in 1987 she founded Kazuyo Sejima and Associates. In 1995 she founded the Tokyo-based firm SANAA together with her former employee Ryue Nishizawa...
and Ryue Nishizawa
Ryue Nishizawa
is an Japanese architect based in Tokyo. He is a graduate of Yokohama National University, and is director of his own firm, Office of Ryue Nishizawa, established in 1997. In 1995, he co-founded the firm SANAA with the architect Kazuyo Sejima...
of the architect office SANAA in 2004. In October 2005, one year after its opening the Museum marked 1,570,000 visitors.
The building
The Museum is located in the center of Kanazawa, near Kenroku-enKenroku-en
Kenroku-en , located in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan, is an old private garden. Along with Kairaku-en and Koraku-en, Kenroku-en is one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan....
garden and the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art
Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art
, also known as IPMA, is the main art gallery of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. The collection includes some of the prefecture's most important cultural assets and works by artists with some connection to the region. It is located in Kanazawa, Ishikawa within the grounds of the Kenrokuen Garden.The...
. The building has a circular form, with a diameter of 112.5 metres. This shape aims to keep the appearance of the overall building volume low, to mitigate the scale of the project and allows access from multiple points of entry. The transparency of the building further manifests the wish to avoid the museum being perceived as a large, introverted mass.
The building includes community gathering spaces, such as a library, lecture hall, and children’s workshop, located on the periphery, and museum spaces in the middle. The exhibition areas comprise numerous galleries with multiple options for division, expansion, or concentration. The galleries are of various proportions and light conditions – from bright daylight through glass ceilings to spaces with no natural light source, their height ranging from 4 to 12 metres. The circulation spaces are designed to make them usable as additional exhibition areas. Four fully glazed internal courtyards, each unique in character, provide ample daylight to the center of the building and a fluent border between community spaces and museum spaces.
Collection
The collection of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa is focused on works produced since 1980 that "propose new values".Artists in the collection are encouraged to produce site-specific
Site-specific art
Site-specific art is artwork created to exist in a certain place. Typically, the artist takes the location into account while planning and creating the artwork...
installations that become "closely associated with the Kanazawa area".
Collection artists include:
Francis Alys
Francis Alÿs
Francis Alÿs is a Belgian artist. His work emerges in the interdisciplinary space of art, architecture, and social practice. After leaving behind his formal training as an architect and relocated to Mexico City, he has created a diverse body of artwork that explores urbanity, spatial justice, and...
, Matthew Barney
Matthew Barney
Matthew Barney is an American artist who works in sculpture, photography, drawing and film. His early works were sculptural installations combined with performance and video...
, Tony Cragg
Tony Cragg
Tony Cragg is a British visual artist specialized in sculpture. He is currently the director of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf.-Early life:Cragg was born in Liverpool in 1949...
, Olafur Eliasson
Olafur Eliasson
Olafur Eliasson is a Danish-Icelandic artist known for sculptures and large-scale installation art employing elemental materials such as light, water, and air temperature to enhance the viewer’s experience. In 1995 he established Studio Olafur Eliasson in Berlin, a laboratory for spatial research...
, Leandro Erlich, Isa Genzken
Isa Genzken
Isa Genzken is a contemporary artist who lives and works in Berlin.-Education:Genzken studied fine arts and art history at the Hamburg University of Fine Arts from 1969–1971, the Berlin University of the Arts from 1971–1973, and Arts Academy Düsseldorf from 1973-1977. Genzken married German visual...
, Kojima Hisaya, Gordon Matta Clark, Peter Newman
Peter Newman
Peter Newman may refer to:*Peter C. Newman, Canadian journalist who emigrated from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia*Peter Kenneth Newman , English economist, historian of economic thought*Peter R...
, Carsten Nicolai, Giuseppe Penone
Giuseppe Penone
Giuseppe Penone is an Italian artist. Penone started working professionally in 1968 in the Garessio forest, near where he was born. He is the younger member of the Italian movement named "Arte Povera", this term has been coined by Germano Celant. Penone's work is concerned with establishing a...
, Gerhard Richter
Gerhard Richter
Gerhard Richter is a German visual artist. Richter has simultaneously produced abstract and photorealistic painted works, as well as photographs and glass pieces, thus undermining the concept of the artist’s obligation to maintain a single cohesive style.- Biography :Gerhard Richter was born in...
, Murayama Ruriko, Hiraki Sawa, Atsuko Tanaka
Atsuko Tanaka
is a Japanese voice actress who works for Ezaki Productions. Her deep and sultry voice is often used to portray villainesses and mature female characters.-TV anime:*Angel Links *Black Cat *Berserk *Cowboy Bebop...
, James Turrell
James Turrell
James Turrell is an American artist primarily concerned with light and space. Turrell was a MacArthur Fellow in 1984. He is represented by The Pace Gallery in New York...
, Patrick Tuttofuoco, Anne Wilson
Anne Wilson (artist)
Anne Wilson is a Chicago-based visual artist. Wilson creates sculpture, drawings, Internet projects, photography, performance, and DVD stop motion animations employing table linens, bed sheets, human hair, lace, thread and wire. Her work extends the traditional processes of Fiber art to other media...
, Suda Yoshihiro