Press Release 2019/09/13

Arata Isozaki at the Kankai Pavilion– A Response by Arata Isozaki to the Continuing Genealogy,
from the Japanese Art of Rokuro Hara, whose sobriquet was “Kankai,”to the Contemporary Art Collection of His Great-grandson Toshio Hara –Kankai Pavilion at Hara Museum ARC (Traditional East Asian Art)
September 13 (Friday) – October 23 (Wednesday), 2019

Exterior view of Kankai Pavilion
Photo: Sadamu Saito

The sharp angular shapes and unifying shades of black of its buildings are what characterizes Hara MuseumARC. We are happy to announce an exhibition by the architect who designed them – Arata Isozaki. Isozaki
stands out as one of Japan's foremost architects and a designer of many museums in Japan and abroad. 2019 has
been a milestone year for Isozaki. Not only because it is the year of his 88th birthday, a very auspicious age inJapan, but also because of his receipt of the Pritzker Prize, commonly known as the "Nobel Prize forarchitecture."
To celebrate these notable events, three special exhibitions have been planned for 2019 and 2020 at threeJapanese museums that are part of Isozaki's architectural legacy: Hara Museum ARC, Art Tower Mito and theNagi-cho Museum of Contemporary Art. Each show, supervised by Isozaki himself, will be unique, yet sharethe same theme: milestones in the career of a master architect. Kicking off this endeavor will be the Kankai
Pavilion where Isozaki will trace his relationship with the Hara Museum through various projects completed
over the years, including the buildings at Hara Museum ARC and the Uji-An, a teahouse (built in 1991 adjacentto the Hara Museum in Tokyo).
Arata Isozaki Architect, Born in 1931 in Oita, Japan.
Selected Architectural Projects
Oita Prefectural Library (Oita, 1966), The Museum of Modern Art, Gunma (Gunma, 1974), Tsukuba Center Building (Ibaraki,1983), Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (USA/1986), Hara Museum ARC (Gunma, 2008), Palau d'Esports Sant
Jordi (Spain/1990), Art Tower Mito (Ibaraki/1990), Nagi-cho Museum of Contemporary Art (Okayama/1994), Akiyoshidai
International Art Village (Yamaguchi/1998), Ceramics Park Mino (Gifu/2002), Shenzhen Cultural Centre (China/2007), Qatar
National Convention Center (Qatar/2011), Shanghai Himalayan Center (China/2013) and others.
Curatorial or Other Projects
Electric Labyrinth at the XIV Triennale di Milano (1968); MA: Space - Time in Japan (conceived and directed by ArataIsozaki) (France and Japan/1978-81); Japanese Pavilion, International Architecture Exhibition (recipient of the Golden LionAward) at the Venice Biennale (1996); China International Practical Exhibition of Architecture (coordinated by Arata Isozaki),(Nanjing /2003) and others.

Kankai Pavilion
The Kankai Pavilion was built in 2008 as part of an expansion of Hara
Museum ARC that took place to mark the 20th anniversary of its foundingin 1988. The Pavilion's aim was to augment the ARC's original purpose asa museum of contemporary art by providing a unique showcase for theHara Rokuro Collection* of traditional East Asian art. It was designed byArata Isozaki, who also designed the ARC's other buildings. By
incorporating features of the Japanese shoin (drawing room), it offers theviewer a new spatial experience that lies at the intersection between thetraditional and the modern.
Installation view of Kankai Pavilion*This collection was amassed before WWII by the Meiji-era industrialist Rokuro Hara who sought to protect Japan's culturalproperties and prevent their outflow to foreign lands. It focuses mainly on early-modern Japanese painting, but also includes
calligraphy and handicrafts, as well as Chinese art. This invaluable collection includes a number of Japanese governmentdesignated National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties.
Exhibition Schedule
Arata Isozaki at the Kankai Pavilion, September 13 (Friday) – October 23 (Wednesday), 2019
Arata Isozaki at Art Tower Mito, October 26 (Saturday), 2019 - January 26 (Sunday), 2020
Arata Isozaki at Nagi-cho Museum of Contemporary Art, Scheduled for 2020*For details, please inquire at the respective venue.

Exhibition Information
Title: Arata Isozaki at the Kankai Pavilion
Organized by: Hara Museum of Contemporary Art
Dates: September 13 (Friday) – October 23 (Wednesday), 2019
Venue: Hara Museum ARC Kankai Pavilion
2855-1 Kanai, Shibukawa-shi, Gunma 377-0027
Tel 0279-24-6585 Fax 0279-24-0449 E-mail arc@haramuseum.or.jp https://www.haramuseum.or.jp (official website)
Hours: 9:30 am - 4:30 pm (last entry at 4:00 pm)
Closed: Thursdays
Admission: General 1,100 yen, Students 700 yen (high school and university) or 500 yen (elementary and junior high), Free forHara Museum members, 10% discount for a group of 20 or more, Combination ticket for Hara Museum ARC and Ikaho GreenBokujo (except during Golden Week): General 1,800 yen; Students 1,500 yen (high school and university) or 1,400 yen (juniorhigh), 800 yen (elementary), half price for those over 70, discount for groups of 20 or more
*Visitors to the Kankai Pavilion can view the on-going exhibition IZUMI KATO – LIKE A ROLLING SNOWBALL as well.
*Children must be accompanied by an adult.
*For residents of Gunma Prefecture: Free admission for elementary and junior high school children every Saturday during theschool term/200-yen-discount on admission for up to five persons upon presentation of the Guchoki Passport.
Directions: By train: Take the Joetsu/Hokuriku Shinkansen to Takasaki, change to the Joetsu/Agatsuma Line, and disembark atShibukawa. From Shibukawa, ARC is 10 minutes away by taxi or 15 minutes by bus (take the Ikaho Onsen bus to ″Green
Bokujo Mae″). By car: 8 kilometers (about 15 minutes) from the Kan-etsu Expressway Shibukawa Ikaho Interchange (in thedirection of Ikaho Onsen).

Press Enquiries
T. 81.279.24.6585
E. press@haramuseum.or.jp