Visiting Naoshima

These days, the islands of the Seto Inland Sea, specifically Naoshima and Teshima, are no secret. Once a rapidly depopulating group of islands, they have since become an internationally acclaimed destination for art and travel thanks to Tetsuhiko Fukutake, the founder of publishing house Benesse. He envisioned revitalizing the area as an educational and cultural haven and after an initial meeting with Naoshima's mayor in 1985, the Benesse House Museum was opened in 1992.

The courtyard of Benesse House Museum with works by Hiroshi Sugimoto

°

Encased in Tadao Ando designed structures, the islands of the Seto Inland Sea are home to works by Ryue Nishizawa, Yayoi Kusama, Lee Ufan, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Claude Monet, James Turell, Walter de Maria, Bruce Nauman, and more.

Outside the Lee Ufan museum

Bruce Nauman's One Hundred Live and Die inside the Benesse House Museum

Hiroshi Sugimoto's Glass Tea House Mondrian

Hiroshi Sugimoto Gallery: Time Corridors

°

For us it is the juxtaposition between a quiet, rural area of natural beauty and these extremely contemporary artworks that seems to highlight the fundamental beauty of both. There are expressions of human design that seem to live fluidly amongst oceans and fields and forests, and vice versa these landscapes enhance the power of the works of art. A reminder that humans, too, are part of earth's natural expression. 

Art House Project Ishibashi

Inside the Benesse House Museum Hotel