“The Challenge”, a retrospective of the Japanese Tadao Ando, will be the first exhibition about architecture hosted at Armani/Silos

Text by: Fiammetta Cesana

After hosting the exotic charm of Charles Fréger’s “Fabula”, on the occasion of the upcoming Salone del Mobile (Furniture Fair) in Milan, the exhibition space of Armani announced that it will dedicate a solo to the worldwide famous Japanese architect. As part of his incredible portfolio, Teatro Armani (right in front of the Silos) revealed, since 2001, the perfect symphony between King Giorgio and Tadao Ando. Their mutual passion for order, rigor and minimalism has paved the way for new inspirational encounters of art and fashion.

“The Challenge”, that will be inaugurated on April 9, is born from a collaboration between Tadao Ando’s studio and Centre Pompidou, to create a narrative path embracing the most significant operas of the architect. In a variety of over 50 works – including technical drawings, original blueprints, sketches, illustrations, notebooks, video installations, and even more – this collection expresses the challenge (in its own title), that has driven Ando’s whole career, of trying to create something that will last forever. Exploring Eastern and Western artistic languages, it will engage you in a storytelling evolved throughout four main themes: Primitive Shapes of Space – An Urban Challenge, – Landscape Genesis – and Dialogues With History.

“I would like to create architecture that could last forever, not in shape or in substance, but as an indelible memory in men’s heart” – Tadao Ando

Tadao Ando was born in Osaka in 1941 and began his self-education in architecture after a short stint as a boxer. He started to develop interest in the field at 18 by visiting temples, shrines and tea houses in Kyoto and Nara. In 1969, after study trips to Europe and the US, he returned to Osaka to establish his own design studio: Tadao Ando Architects & Associates.

Throughout his career he received many awards, including the Pritzker Prize for architecture in 1995, the Person of Cultural Merit in Japan in 2003, the John F. Kennedy Center Gold Medal in the Arts in 2010, and Commander of the Order of Art and Letters in France in 2013.

In addition to the Armani Teatro, Tadao Ando is liable for the creation of the Church of the Light in Osaka, the Chapel on the Water in Tomamu, the Water Temple in the Awajishima Islands in Japan, the Pulitzer Arts Foundation in US, the Fabrica of Benetton in Treviso and the Duvetica store in Milan.

“The Challenge”

Armani/Silos

April 9 to July 28, 2019

Via Bergognone 40, Milan