Chichu Art Museum
地中美術館
An underground museum on Naoshima designed by Tadao Ando, housing permanent works by Claude Monet, Walter de Maria, and James Turrell with sophisticated natural light integration.

The Chichu Art Museum is a unique and fascinating museum that combines art and architecture in a seamless and harmonious way. The museum's location on the Naoshima island in Kagawa Prefecture is itself a work of art, with its beautiful natural scenery and stunning sea views. The decision to build the museum primarily underground was a clever one, as it allows visitors to appreciate the natural surroundings without being distracted by the museum's structure.
The architect of the Chichu Art Museum, Tadao Ando, is a world-renowned architect known for his use of simple geometric forms and raw materials such as concrete and steel. The museum's design reflects Ando's minimalist style and attention to detail, with its use of clean lines and natural materials. The result is a museum that is both striking and subtle, with a quiet elegance that allows visitors to focus on the art.
The three artists whose works are permanently displayed in the Chichu Art Museum - Claude Monet, Walter de Maria, and James Turrell - are all masters in their respective fields. Monet's Water Lilies series is especially well-suited to the museum's design, as the natural light that filters into the space creates a constantly changing canvas for the paintings. De Maria's outdoor installation, Time/Timeless/No Time, adds to the overall atmosphere of the museum with its use of natural materials such as granite, concrete, and brass. Turrell's perceptual installations, such as Open Sky, are a perfect match for the museum's architecture and use of natural light.





