Fukuoka Art Museum Audio Guide

Fukuoka Art Museum: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to Fukuoka Art Museum

   Welcome to the Fukuoka Art Museum, an urban art museum close to the center of Fukuoka City, on the waterfront of Ohori Park. This guide tells the story of the museum itself: its architecture, its collection and its place beside the park's pond. It does not stray into the wider story of the city. The museum opened in 1979, and the park around it is one of the symbols of Fukuoka. In March 2019 the museum was reborn after a major renovation project, so what you see today is a building with more than four decades of history that has been given a fresh start. Today it looks after a collection of approximately 16,000 works, running from ancient art through to modern and contemporary pieces. Over the next few stops we will look at the architect and his reddish brown walls, the art you can hope to meet inside, and the way art and nature share this lakeside spot. Take your time. The museum was built to be lingered in.

2. 02

   Mayekawa Kunio and the Tiled Wall

   The museum was designed by Mayekawa Kunio, who lived from 1905 to 1986 and is counted among the great masters of Japanese architecture. In his younger days he studied Western modern architecture under the world-famous architect Le Corbusier, and he went on to become one of Japan's most prominent architects. The building carries that modernist training, yet it feels settled and calm beside the water. Look first at the exterior wall. It has a distinctive reddish brown tone and faces a peaceful pond in Ohori Park. The wall is covered in porcelain tiles in an impressive range of shades, fired at the Tokoname kiln in Aichi Prefecture. Tiles like these are not flat and uniform. Up close, the color shifts from one piece to the next, and the surface keeps its brilliance. Their glow has continued to grow even though many years have passed since the museum's inauguration. Step inside and the layout has its own logic. The galleries are arranged around a spacious lobby and plaza called the Esplanade. The architecture is known for this unusual gallery plan, centered on that open heart, along with its serene atmosphere.

3. 03

   A Collection from East and West

   Inside, the museum holds a notable collection of Western and Asian art, along with a rotating program of temporary exhibitions. One of its best-known pieces is The Madonna of Port Lligat by Salvador Dalí, which is exhibited here. If you enjoy surreal imagery with a spiritual twist, it is a name to look out for. The museum has also hosted major shows. In November 2010 it presented a large exhibition of the work of Marc Chagall. The collection galleries are arranged over two floors, the first floor and the second floor, and the special exhibition gallery has its own space. The collection galleries do not stand still. The displays change every two to three months. Works are presented around themes such as the seasons or historical periods, ranging from classical art to modern and contemporary work. A return visit may therefore show you something quite different from your first.

4. 04

   Asian Art and the Park Setting

   Fukuoka's museum has a special relationship with Asian art, and it shows in the Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale, which is held every three years with a different theme each time. Past editions include the second triennale in 2002, titled Imagined Workshop, the third in 2005, titled Parallel Realities: Asian Art Now, and the fourth in 2009, titled Live and Let Live: Creators of Tomorrow. Each title gives a hint of how the themes shift from one edition to the next. Then there is the setting. The museum stands in Ohori Park, and many visitors will tell you that art and nature coexist here in harmony. Ohori Park is generally known to occupy the former moat of Fukuoka Castle, so the water beside the museum belongs to the city's older history as well as to its present-day leisure. And when you need a break, the cafe called Aquam on the first floor serves breakfast even before the museum opens. It offers limited-edition menus found only here, such as the Ohori Dock, and the Ohori Choux, a cream puff inspired by the lush greenery of the park and made with matcha from Hoshino Village in Fukuoka.

5. 05

   Before You Head Off

   You have now met the museum from the outside in: a reddish brown tiled wall facing the pond, a spacious Esplanade at its heart, and a collection of about 16,000 works that keeps rotating through the seasons. Before you move on, try looking at the tiles from a few different angles and see how many shades you can pick out. Then notice how the building's calm lines sit against the water of Ohori Park. If you go inside, ask yourself how the open lobby shapes the way you move from gallery to gallery. The displays change every two to three months, so there is always another reason to come back and see what the museum has brought out next.