Tadao Ando

TADAO ANDO (Osaka, Japan, 1941).
Set of four architectural drawings, 2015.
Marker pen on paper.
Signed and dated.
Measurements: 17 × 11 cm; 31.5 × 23 cm(frame).

This set of four drawings by Tadao Ando brings together variations of the same architectural idea, resolved through a synthetic and direct graphic language. The black lines define volumes of great geometric purity, while the strokes of color introduce dynamism, light and movement around the structure. More than simple sketches, these works function as conceptual images, where architecture becomes sign, rhythm and mental space.

Tadao Ando is one of the most influential Japanese architects in contemporary architecture. Self-taught and deeply influenced by Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Kahn, he trained through travels in the United States, Europe and Africa before founding Tadao Ando Architects & Associates in Osaka in 1968. His architecture is characterized by the use of exposed concrete, essential geometry, natural light and the integration of elements such as water, wind and landscape.

Among his most outstanding works are the Azuma House, the Church of Light, Rokko Housing, the Japan Pavilion at Expo'92 in Seville, the Chichu Art Museum, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and the Poly Grand Theater in Shanghai. In 1995 he received the Pritzker Prize, the highest international recognition in architecture.