Chichu Art Museum

About

The Chichu Art Museum is a registered museum on Naoshima, Kagawa Prefecture, designed by Tadao Ando Architect & Associates and opened in 2004. Its conception began with the acquisition of Claude Monet's 'Water Lily Pond' (1915-1926), and it opened as part of the Benesse Art Site Naoshima project. Most of the building is buried underground so as not to disturb the scenery of the Seto Inland Sea. The exhibition spaces are divided into three sections: the Monet Room, where five works from Monet's Water Lilies series can be viewed under natural light; the Turrell Room, gathering works by James Turrell from his early to recent output; and the Walter De Maria Room, which makes use of a shaft running from the third basement level up to ground level.