TOMIHIRO HOSHINO MUSEUM

TOMIHIRO HOSHINO MUSEUM

 Azuma-Mura, Gunma , Japan. 2001 

Like many small , isolated Japanese villages, 

the community of Azuma-Mura in the

 mountains of Gunma prefecture decided

 that certain government credits would be

 well spent on a new museum . 

The organized a competition for a 3000

 square-meter facility to be dedicated to 

the work of a locally tamous painter,

 Tomihiro Hoshino Severely injured in a 1972 gymnastics accident, the artist began painting with pencil or brush held in his mouth . He calls his work (shi-ga) watercolors of flowers and poetry. As the architect puts it, ( his poetic images are an expression of his search for the essence of life , its simplicity and gentleness as reflected in the form of flowers). Of some 300 works painted by Tomihiro Hoshino in the past 30 years. 120 are to be exhibited in this museum at any one time. Offices, a gift shop, café, temporary exhibition space and a learning center were also part of the program requirements. As Neil Denari has written, ( the scheme has a formal relation to the artist’s brush and to the flower itself, but more importantly it articulates the Tomihiro galleries as pathways intended to generate a feeling of movement, of a search for essences. The entrance area is located 1.5 meters below grade with a winter garden level at 3 meters below grade. The galleries float above this level. ( There were 1250 entries in this open international competition for which Toyo lto chaired a jury that included Kengo Kuma. Rikken Yamamoto and Wiel Arets. Neil Denari was in the final 60 but did not win the competiton.

Book (architecture now).