Tadao Ando

TADAO ANDO (Osaka, Japan, 1941).
Architectural project.
Marker and colored pencil on paper.
Signed.
Measurements: 16.5 × 12.5 cm; 26.5 × 20 cm (frame).

In this drawing, Tadao Ando synthesizes his architectural conception through a refined graphic language, in which the geometry of the building is combined with the fluid presence of water. The structure, defined by clean lines and rectilinear volumes, is crossed by blue and green strokes that introduce movement, light and a relationship with the natural environment. The work reflects some of Ando's essential principles: spatial clarity, the dialogue between architecture and nature, and the importance of emptiness as a compositional element.

Tadao Ando is one of the most influential Japanese architects in contemporary architecture. Self-taught and influenced by Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Kahn, he founded Tadao Ando Architects & Associates in Osaka in 1968. His works include the Azuma House, the Church of Light, Rokko Housing, the Japan Pavilion at Expo'92, the Chichu Art Museum and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. In 1995 he received the Pritzker Prize.