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Roppongi Rokken: Sei Case
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Roppongi Rokken: Sei Case

Roppongi Rokken: Sei Case

Michele De Lucchi is a leading contemporary Italian architect, designer and artist. As well as being active as a cutting-edge architect, De Lucchi has always explored new forms by creating art derived from his 20-year passion for handiwork. He conducts experiments using numerous creative processes, from the selection of materials to the final finishes. The vitality propelling his artwork is also a driving force for speculation and definition of new notions of architecture.
Roppongi Rokken: Sei Case (six houses) is an exhibition of works forming part of De Lucchi's sculpture series Logge*. These artworks are being shown for the first time.

The exhibition concept originates in dialogue De Lucchi's held with Issey Miyake in 2018, and has been specially designed for Gallery 3. Sei Case, consists of three wooden and three bronze Logge, and will be installed together with an artistic video directed by Victor Kossakovsky showing the making process. De Lucchi was interested that the placename Roppongi, where the venue is located, is sometimes said to come from six samurai residences that once existed there. The coincidence with his sculptures of six houses intrigued him, and that is why he named this exhibition Roppongi Rokken.

Sei Case are installed on oak pedestals treated with acetyl oxidation that enhances stability, water-resistance and preservation. Detailing on the pedestals was also designed by De Lucchi.
"Wood and bronze are among the oldest and noblest materials used by humankind. We have used them to build civilizations and deepen humanity." De Lucchi notes that these materials also have wide anthropological meaning.

Loggia explores the notion of "Space-in Between." This is a space connecting inside and out, where indoor life and the environment outside fuse.
The walls of Loggia incorporate elements evoking traditional Japanese sliding screens (shoji partitions), and also the windowed walls of European houses.
This may be called De Lucchi's project of bridging Japanese and Italian traditions - intrinsically different, but at the same time sharing a deep respect for craft and craftspeople. De Lucchi thinks the fusion of differences and commonalities will serve to make each even better.

For De Lucchi, Loggia is like an unrestricted journey into the imagination of spaces in which people can live. It is an investigation into permeable environments through which external worlds can be adopted. His trajectory liberates from conventional notions of architecture.
"Loggia reminds me of traditional Japanese tea houses, but also avant-garde architecture which extends inside/outside spatial continuities. In order for the ephemerality of human life to coexist with the extraordinary power of nature, some relationship between architecture, people and nature is becoming increasingly essential. We grope towards new ways of living."

This exhibition provides a method for speculating on existing places, with an opportunity to pose this crucial question: what does it mean for a building to be healthy, and to assist people to coexist with each other, with cities and with nature.

* Logge is plural of Loggia (italian): a roofed area on the side of a building.

Gallery Talk "LET'S BE HAPPY"

Speaker: Michele De Lucchi
Date: September 21, 2024
Time: 11:00 - 11:45
Language: Italian (Consecutive Translation in Japanese)
Admission: Free (No reservations are required, standing only)

Michele De Lucchi will give a special Gallery Talk during his visit to Japan for this exhibition. De Lucchi, who has been a leader in avant-garde architecture and design since the 1970s, will talk about "the philosophy and vision for the future." This is an open opportunity to hear directly from him, so please join us.

* Please note that admission may be restricted depending on congestion at the venue.

Loggia 387 walnut wood (2015), Photo by Michele De Lucchi
Date
September 20 (Fri) - October 14 (Mon), 2024
Venue
21_21 DESIGN SIGHT Gallery 3
Closed
Tuesdays
Hours
10:00 - 19:00
* Special opening hours for Roppongi Art Night: September 27 (Fri.), 28 (Sat.) 10:00 - 22:00
Admission
Free
Project by
Michele De Lucchi
Special Sponsor
Miyake Design Studio
Technical Sponsor
UniFor
Website
https://amdlcircle.com/