KANNO MUSEUM OF ART

PLACEText: Aya Takada

In the spring of 2006, The Kanno Museum Of Art, which permanently displays the work of western modern sculptors such as Bourdelle, Greco, Despiau, Moore, Fazzini, Manzu, Marini, Rodin, opened on a hill offering sweeping views of Shiogama, Miyagi.

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© Daici Ano/FWD INC.

The museum houses eight sculptures; “Right hand of Pierre de Wissant, the Burghers of Calais (Rodin)” “Madeleine Charnot (Bourdelle)” “Madame Alice Derain (Despiau)” “Helmet Head no.6 (Moore)” “Small Nude (Marini)” “Seated Cardinal (Manzu)” “Woman Looking at Her Foot (Fazzini)” “Lucilia (Greco),” collected by the director of the museum, Kiyo Kanno since 1970s.

Just knowing about the museum housing the masterpiece of the sculptures, it would be attention-getting from all over the world. Moreover, there are the specific reasons why many people are attracted to the museum; “rather than a white cube able to accommodate any type of exhibition, it’s aimed to design a unique landscape, and specific places for exhibiting each of the sculptures,” said the architect of the museum, Hitoshi Abe.

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© Kanno Museum Of Art

The architecture of the museum itself looks like a sculpture because copper plates are used for the exterior walls and create the texture of corduroy steel.

Upon entering, visitors can see natural light delicately lighting the museum. The architecture contains eight spaces to hold the eight sculptures, within the predetermined 10m x 12m x 10m space. It is possible to walk around the sculptures and appreciates them from various angles. Each space is made of 3.2mm-thickness-steel plates with embossed effect. This form is defined by “balancing the conditions (location, size) that give rise to the boundary surfaces of each cell, which are formed by the internal pressures of the small spaces within the large space of the entire building” (Hitoshi Abe Website). Visitors can feel the organic feeling from the embossed effect in the white space.

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Fernando Trocca
MoMA STORE