{"id":3368,"date":"2025-04-08T13:39:41","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T13:39:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/04\/08\/kanazawas-21st-century-museum-quietly-celebrates-20-years-of-growth\/"},"modified":"2025-04-08T13:39:52","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T13:39:52","slug":"kanazawas-21st-century-museum-quietly-celebrates-20-years-of-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/04\/08\/kanazawas-21st-century-museum-quietly-celebrates-20-years-of-growth\/","title":{"rendered":"Kanazawa\u2019s 21st Century Museum Quietly Celebrates 20 Years of Growth"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In a circular glass landmark by SANAA, Kanazawa\u2019s contemporary art museum is quietly growing its collection. Photo: WATANABE Osamu, courtesy of 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In Japan\u2019s Kanazawa prefecture, a 2.5-hour bullet train from Tokyo to the country\u2019s western coastline brings visitors to an immersive contemporary art museum that has quietly enjoyed two decades of ambitious growth. Designed by Japanese architects Kazuyo Sejima<\/a> and Ryue Nishizawa<\/a> of SANAA\u2014recipients of the 2010 Pritzker Prize and the duo behind New York\u2019s New Museum of Contemporary Art and the Louvre-Lens in northern France\u2014the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa is housed in a striking circular building composed primarily of glass, creating a structure as open and fluid as the experience it offers.<\/p>\n

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Under the leadership of director Yuko Hasegawa<\/a>, the museum debuted in 2004 with just 200 artworks\u2014a collection that had taken roughly four years to build. Twenty years later, the permanent collection includes around 4,170 works, a 1,900 percent increase. These span various mediums but remain limited in scope: the museum only acquires pieces created in 1980 or later, and more narrowly, only those that influence new values or offer points of reference within the context of post-1900 art history, with a preference for works by or connected to artists from the Kanazawa region. Artists commissioned by the museum are encouraged to produce site-specific installations that will anchor their work in Kanazawa.<\/p>\n

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SEE ALSO: Noah Davis\u2019 Legacy Lives On in the Barbican\u2019s Poignant Retrospective <\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI believe that the permanent exhibition works associated with the building and grounds of the museum are distinctive and noteworthy as part of our collection,\u201d Hiroaki Ochiai<\/a>, the museum\u2019s public relations chief, told Observer. \u201cSince contemporary art encompasses a wide range of expressive forms, we do not focus on any particular genre. Rather, we aim to avoid an overemphasis on any one genre and instead look for a diverse range of expressions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"An\"An<\/a>
Michael Lin, People\u2019s Gallery 09.10.04-21.03.05<\/em>, 2004; acrylic paint and chairs, size: 395.5\u00d72744 cm (wall), 87\u00d746\u00d776 cm (each of 15 chairs). Photo: NAKAMICHI Atsushi \/ Nac\u00e1sa & Partners \u00a9 Michael LIN<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A recent three-part exhibition series (\u201cCollection Exhibition 1<\/a>,\u201d \u201cCollection Exhibition 2: Drifting in the City<\/a>\u201d and \u201cCollection Exhibit 3<\/a>\u201d) showcased major works from the museum\u2019s holdings. In the first show, pieces ranged from Shimizu Akira<\/a>\u2019s Color-Blindness Testing Chart No. 10<\/i> to German artist Carsten H\u00f6ller\u2019s Kanazawa Closing Doors<\/i> (which remained on view through the second show). \u201cDrifting in the City\u201d focused on the theme of urban life, with works that encouraged self-care in the face of cities \u201cviolently erasing individual human memories and feelings,\u201d as museum registrar Yishu Hanu<\/a> wrote. How people \u201cdrift along on the river of the city\u201d was at the exhibition\u2019s core. A standout was Homma Takashi<\/a>\u2019s Tokyo Suburbia<\/i> photography series, which depicts scenes from children\u2019s everyday lives in Tokyo\u2019s suburbs.<\/p>\n

The third show, on view through May 11, 2025, brings together work by twelve artists, including Yasura Takeshi<\/a>\u2019s glass and glacial meltwater sculpture cosmos<\/i> and the photo series glacier,<\/i> both inspired by a 2023 trip to Nepal.<\/p>\n

The expansive collecting strategy reflected in these exhibitions catalyzed the museum\u2019s rapid growth, as did a major acquisition from the Kiyoshi Awazu<\/a> Archive. \u201cIn 2006, we received a significant donation of 2,944 items from his family, which greatly contributed to the increase in the overall number of works in our collection,\u201d Ochiai said. While the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa maintains a clear collecting philosophy, the institution remains open to thoughtful detours when they make sense.<\/p>\n

\"Three\"Three<\/a>
Leandro Erlich, The Swimming Pool<\/em>, 2004; concrete, glass and water, H280 \u00d7W402\u00d7D697cm. \u00a9 Leandro ERLICH, Photo:WATANABE Osamu<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Andy Warhol<\/a>\u2019s Diamond Dust Shoes<\/i> from his 1980\u201381 Retrospective Series<\/i> was featured in the first exhibition. Still on view is Anish Kapoor<\/a>\u2019s L\u2019Origine du Monde,<\/i> an optical illusion consisting of a large black oval painted on a gallery wall, which easily sparks debate over whether it\u2019s flat or three-dimensional. Olafur Eliasson<\/a>\u2019s 2010 Colour activity house<\/i> and The Swimming Pool<\/i> by Argentine conceptual artist Leandro Erlich<\/a> also remain visitor favorites.<\/p>\n

Only 5 percent of the artists represented are from Kanazawa\u2014a region of just under 462,000 people\u2014although 53 percent are Japanese artists and 63 percent are Asian. That balance will likely shift over time. As Ochiai noted, the institution has no plans to slow down its collecting efforts any time soon.<\/p>\n

\"A\"A<\/a>
Patrick Blanc, Green Bridge<\/em>, 2004; plants, polyvinyl chloride, felt and steel, H468 \u00d7W1,258 \u00d7D14cm. \u00a9 Patrick BLANC, photo: NAKAMICHI Atsushi \/ Nac\u00e1sa & Partners<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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