CHICAGOSeptember 6, 2019In connection with the 2019 Chicago Architecture Biennial, Wrightwood 659 will present Tadao Ando: Museums and Galleries, an exhibition of models, drawings and other materials documenting some of Pritzker Prize-winning master architect Tadao Ando's most famous public museums and galleries, on view from October 3 through December 14, 2019. Tadao Ando: Museums and Galleries is made possible by support from Alphawood Exhibitions.
Tadao Ando: Museums and Galleries will include an installation of a remarkable model of Naoshima Island in Japan's Inland Sea, the site of several Ando masterpiece structures, in addition to university student-made models of three of Ando's most important public commissions in the United States: Clark Art Institute, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and the Pulitzer Arts Foundation. These models were created in 2018 for an Ando-related exhibition at Wrightwood 659; each model was constructed by a team of students and instructors from one of Chicago's three architecture schools: The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Architecture, and the Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture.
"Chicago is among only a very few places where three institutions of higher learning focus on architecture. Although these models were created to meticulous standards and on an exactly equivalent scale, each is unique. Rarely can one make such a direct comparison of the varying approaches to architecture and design offered by three schools of architecture. From whimsy to rigid Miesian discipline, the models run the gamut of style," said Jim McDonough, executive director of Alphawood Foundation.
This unique display of detailed architectural models of Tadao Ando buildings will take place in the master architect's most recent U.S. creation, the Wrightwood 659 art space. Visitors will be free to explore the entirety of the building and will have access to another exhibition on display at this time: Tetsuya Ishida: Self-portrait of Other, the first retrospective exhibition of Japanese artist Ishida ( 1973ïż˝'2005 ) in the United States.
Wrightwood 659, at 659 W. Wrightwood Avenue in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood, is a private, non-collecting institution devoted to socially engaged art and architecture. Opened in late 2018, Wrightwood 659 presents three public exhibitions annually; future exhibitions include The Allure of Matter: Material Art from China, a major exhibition of contemporary experimental art in China, to be presented in February 2020 in partnership with the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago.
Exhibition Ticketing
Tadao Ando: Museums and Galleries tickets are available online only, starting Monday, September 23, 2019. Wrightwood 659 will be open to the public on Thursdays 12p-8p, Fridays 12p-8p, and Saturdays 10a-7p through December 14, 2019. During the exhibition, free general admission tickets will be released each Monday for the current week. All visits require a reservation. Tickets will only be available online at https://tickets.wrightwood659.org/events.
For additional information: wrightwood659.org .
—From a press release