Internationally renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando, born 1941, is hailed a leading authority in his profession and is the only architect to have won the discipline's four most prestigious prizes: the Pritzker, Carlsberg, Praemium Imperiale and Kyoto Prize. Ando's exhibition 'Chinmoku', meaning silence, includes three maquettes, sketches and photos relating to some of his most prolific projects: Ground Zero Project, New York, 2001-02, Church on the Water, Hokkaido, 1985-88 and Chichu Art Museum, Naoshima, 2000-04; plus a scale concrete model of Church of the Light, Osaka, 1987-89.
The exhibition is a first for both Ando, who had never shown these materials in a commercial exhibition, and for Hamiltons, marking a momentary break from photography in order to coincide with the unveiling of Ando's installation outside The Connaught Hotel on Carlos Place.
"A mutual friend of Ando and myself, Kazuhito Yoshii - a gallerist in New York City, brought Ando to Hamiltons whilst visiting London. He loved the gallery and an idea was conceived to have a show that would coincide with the unveiling at The Connaught. A portion of the exhibition proceeds will be donated, by Ando and Hamiltons, to benefit charitable organisations caring for orphaned children from the recent Tsunami.", Tim Jefferies, 2011.