Junya Ishigami's 'Freeing Architecture' at Fondation Cartier

The Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain in Paris presents 'Freeing Architecture', the first major exhibition dedicated to an architect by the institution and the first substantial monographic show on Junya Ishigami (Kanagawa, 1974). The exhibition features 20 projects presented through 30 maquettes at various scales, built over more than a year in the architect's atelier. The show communicates 'freedom' as a fundamental value of Ishigami's practice, evident in his selection and treatment of materials—models are made of paper, water, aluminum film, wood, vegetation, cement, and more. Projects like the Chapel of the Valley in Shandong, China, enclosed between two bent concrete sheets ranging from 22 to 180 cm thick and rising 45 meters high but only 130 cm at its narrowest point, demonstrate pushing materials to structural extremes. In Dali, China, a 300-meter-long canopy for eight luxury vacation homes is supported by ancient megaliths on site, some of which will be moved or removed. The exhibition includes videos and drawings but no photographs of built projects. The Fondation Cartier building, designed by Jean Nouvel, plays a key role, with its glass screens allowing seamless views from the interior to the garden by German artist Lothar Baumgarten and the boulevard Raspail. The show runs until September 9, 2018.