In my opinion, French people have always been fascinated by Asian culture and art, much more so than the English. Japonisme and Chinoiserie were extremely popular in Europe during the 18th and 19th centures; and thanks to globalisation, Japonisme is making a comeback. Officially.

To celebrate the 160 years of friendship between Japan and France, the Japonismes 2018 festival was launched to bring Japanese art and culture to Paris from July 2018 to February 2019. One of the major events is a major retrospective of world-renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando at Centre Pompidou.

36 black and white photographs taken by Ando, 1984

‘Tadao Ando: The Challenge‘ focuses on four main themes – the simplicity of space, the urban challenge, project genesis and dialogue with the past. The exhibition covers Ando‘s fifty major projects over five decades via 180 drawings, 70 original plans and numerous slideshows. As soon as I walked in, I was captivated by the striking black and white photographs taken by Ando of his own architecture. The use of smooth concrete, natural light and simple geometry is highlighted in these photos, and there is no need for captions or descriptions.

The exhibition reminded me of an incident at Toto Gallery Ma in Tokyo ten years ago when my friend and I went there to see Ando’s exhibition. We had no idea that the architect was giving a talk on the day, and was surprised to see him there. However, we were stuck inside for ages due to the crowd – it was quite chaotic by Japanese standard! I didn’t see the architect this time, but at least I got to see the exhibition without leaps of people around me.

Besides his famous works like the Church of Light and Azuma House, there are also models and drawings of his unbuilt work, including his rejected plan for Tate Modern, and Nakanoshima Project II, featuring an egg-shaped shell within Osaka City Hall – which I think is quite ground-breaking.

There is also a model of Ando‘s new project in Paris: Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection. With an estimated budget of $170 million, Ando was commissioned by François Pinault, the founder of the luxury group Kering and the investment company Artémis, to renovate the 19th-century former stock exchange and transformed it into a contemporary art venue. Even though there is no shortage of art venues in Paris, it is still exciting to see Ando‘s new work in Paris – can’t wait to see it.