The Magic of Kanazawa

Suzanne Swarts ventures beyond the walls of Voorlinden in search of the most exceptional places to experience art. In MASTERS, the museum director shares her travels to these art destinations. This time she visits the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa.

Suzanne Swarts likes to go beyond the walls of 'her' Voorlinden in search of the most special places to admire art. In MASTERS, the museum director shares her experiences of her travels to these art places. This time she visits the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa.

After a long flight of twenty hours and a car ride of almost four hours I arrived in Kanazawa, on the northern coast of Japan. The city, famous for its rich culture and history, is home to one of the most striking modern museums in Japan: the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art. It had been high on my list for years, because it has – just like Voorlinden – a swimming pool by the Argentinean artist Leandro Erlich in its collection. Moreover, the museum has the same love for artists such as Ron Mueck, Michaël Borremans and Mark Manders, with whom we have also organized a solo exhibition in recent years or, like with Manders, are going to make.

The world-famous art museum is located in the heart of the city, right next to one of Japan’s best-preserved geisha districts and Kenrokuen Garden, one of the country’s most famous and beautiful gardens. The perfectly round exterior façade is made of glass, making it seem as if you can look straight through the building. Once inside, nature and daylight stream in through the windows, just like at Voorlinden. The renowned architectural firm SANAA designed this elegant masterpiece of contemporary architecture, creating four courtyards and white blocks on the cylinder shape that rise upwards. Some rooms are several stories high, others are just big enough for five to six people – perfect for certain art installations.

Iconic works

The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art has been around for over twenty years and has built up an excellent reputation with its collection and exhibitions. The museum wants to tell the story of this time and therefore mainly buys works of art from after 1980 that show important changes in course. One of the most iconic works of art is Swimming Pool by Erlich, which looks a bit paler blue than the version we have in Wassenaar. The swimming pool is outdoors, and here too you imagine yourself under water without getting wet. In addition, the museum also houses a work of art by James Turrell. His Sky Blue Planet is a large space with a square hole in the roof through which you can admire the changing sky.

Spread out on the lawn around the museum are twelve intriguing, tuba-like tubes by Florian Claar. Together they form a labyrinth of speaking tubes. The tubes are connected to each other underground, without any logic. When you speak into such a tube, you do not know where your voice travels, but also where the voice you hear comes from. Another striking work is by Olafur Eliasson. His Colour Activity House is a cyclone-shaped pavilion with colored glass in the three primary colors cyan, magenta or yellow. As you move, new shades appear and you see the landscape reflected from a different angle.

When the sun sets, a light in the center of the pavilion turns on, and the artwork transforms into a lighthouse of colors. As other visitors slowly disappear into the twilight and I enjoy this spectacle, I realize that this work perfectly symbolizes the overwhelming, colorful experience that the museum offers; the 21st Century Museum breathes a rare magic, and in that moment I felt completely immersed in its enchanting world.