The National Museum of Art, Osaka, relocated this year from Expo Park to elegant new premises in the commercial Nakanoshima district. The architect Cesar Pelli -- who is also responsible for the recent redesign of Haneda Airport in Tokyo -- resisted contesting the air space of the surrounding and soaring Osaka office blocks, and instead had the new building plunge deep underground.
On entering the gallery at street level, visitors descend beneath an elaborate ceilingdesign of twisting metal pipework that alludes to the forms of bamboo and the plants' perennial growth. If the building is anything to go by, the robust symbolism bodes well for the museum's continued support and display of contemporary art, which it has made its specialty.
For its inaugural exhibition, titled "Mirrorical Returns," the museum's focus is on the French-born U.S. painter Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968), who is represented by about 70 works. But in fact there are very few originals on show, because many of Duchamp's "Readymades" were either lost or destroyed. However, many were later re-made or authorized by the artist for re-editioning, while others were made by museums for the purpose of putting on art exhibitions like this one. Another reason for all the replicas is that there is a thriving market for all things Duchampian, and relatively few to go round.