Tomas Saraceno was born in 1973 in Argentina. After studying architecture at the University of Buenos Aires, the artist moved to Europe and now lives and works in Frankfurt, Germany. Saraceno gained international acclaim at the Sao Paulo Biennale (2006) and Venice Biennale (2009), while his large-scale indoor and outdoor installation projects in various cultural facilities worldwide, especially in the US and the UK, have also attracted great attention. Here in Japan, the young artist has made a striking impression with his installation at Towada Art Center, Aomori prefecture, which opened in 2008.
Saraceno addresses complex problems of sustainability and our coexistence on planet Earth. His works present an extremely clear “vision”, inspired by various images such as a spider’s web, bubbles and clouds. He follows the tradition of “the visionary architect”, Buckminster Fuller, along with Archigram and Yona Friedman, who warned against rapid economic growth and imagined cities of the future in the air.
Saraceno advances an idea of floating cities that are even more ecologically sustainable than those of his predecessors: his exhibition “Cloud Cities” consists of habitable cells bound together. This fluid city is a vision of coexistence on a global scale, without borders, “flowing like clouds” above earthly problems such as national borders, race, overpopulation and environmental destruction, in order to obtain a new form of living. The bubble-like structure of Cloud Cities floating here and there will generate a new biosphere - an airborne city - at Le Forum on the 8th floor of Maison Hermès, which is already located up in the air. Saraceno’s works offer a vision of a future in its transparence and airiness, while also urging the public to discuss the problems of today’s world: they are where the present meets the future.
Direct walk from exit B7 at Ginza Station on the Ginza, Marunouchi and Hibiya lines. 7 minute walk from the Hibiya exit of Yurakucho Station on the JR Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku lines.
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