Arata Isozki:Archipelogos of Architecture
November 1, 2025 – January 25, 2026 10:00―18:00 (no admittance after 17:30)
This is the largest retrospective for the first time in Japan of architect Arata Isozaki who passed away in late 2022. Isozaki, who designed the architecture of Art Tower Mito, is known as one of the most creative and innovative architects of the 20th century and was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2019. He held a distinguished position in the areas of philosophy, arts, cultural theory and critique over sixty years being involved in not only architectural projects and city plans but also writing, collaborations with artists and intellectuals, and curatorial work.
In his book, “Japan-ness in Architecture,” he writes, “In our contemporary state of affairs—superflatness—any precipitation would form an island; more islands would form an archipelago. But, of course, it is more than ever imperative to encourage ways of perceiving islands/archipelago other than, and beyond, a mere archetypal descent to materiality or reenactment of origins.” The concept of “archipelagos” comes from Italian philosopher Massimo Cacciari’s book “L’archipelago” (1997). With this concept as a foothold for further thinking, Isozaki positively incorporated it as an important spatial concept in his own thoughts and practices.
In this exhibition entitled “Archipelagos of Architecture,” Isozaki’s activities that were never confined to one genre are configured into archipelagos. With the keywords of city, architecture, architectural objects, flux structure, tentative form, and non-architecture (art), and through various media including architectural maquettes, plans, sketches, installations, videos, prints and watercolors, Isozaki’s path is traced and his activities going beyond architecture are introduced from a bird’s eye view on the stage of Art Tower Mito, which was designed by Isozaki himself.
ISOZAKI Arata
Profile
（1931-2022） Born in Oita, Japan in 1931. Graduated from Architectural Faculty of University of Tokyo in 1954. Established Arata Isozaki & Associates in 1963. As a leading international figure in architecture, Isozaki designed numerous works such as the Museum of Modern Art, Gunma, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, and Palau Sant Jordi, 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympic Games Stadium. Recent works include Qatar National Convention Center, Allianz Tower in Milan, Shanghai Symphony Hall, Hunan Provincial Museum, University of Central Asia, and Urban design of Zhengzhou City, Henan Province in China. He juried many international architectural design competitions and also acted as a chairman at symposiums such as 'Any Conference' held in 1991-2000 and curated architecture and art exhibitions worldwide. His notable curatorial works include 'MA – Space-Time in Japan' in 1978-81. He served as commissioner of Japanese Pavilion, La Biennale di Venezia International Architecture Exhibition (6th, 7th, 8th) and was awarded the Leone d'Oro at the Japanese Pavilion, 'Sensing the Future, The Architect as Seismograph' in 1996. He wrote a large number of books including 'Japan-ness in Architecture,' (Shinchosha and MIT Press) and 'Arata Isozaki Writing as Architecture Vol.1-8' (Iwanami Shoten) which compiled his writings in the last half-century. Going beyond the framework of architecture, he worked in a wide range of fields, including philosophy, visual art, design, studies of culture, and criticism. He was selected as the 2019 laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize.
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