TOKYO.- Following openings in Paris, Hong Kong, New York and Seoul, contemporary art gallery Perrotin, founded in 1989 by Emmanuel Perrotin, opened its newest gallery in Tokyo on June 7th with a solo exhibition bringing together a collection of recent paintings by 97 year old Pierre Soulages.

The interiors of Perrotin have been designed by the internationally renowned Hong Kong architect Andre Fu, who was also the designer for Perrotin’s Hong Kong space, which opened in 2012.

Nestled in the heart of Tokyo’s dynamic Roppongi neighbourhood, the gallery is located on the ground floor of the Piramide building and has been visualized by Fu and his design studio AFSO as a modernist art space that responds to the gallery’s distinct street-front location. The 140 square foot gallery is pure, contemporary yet highly intimate.

A key design challenge was the need to create an unconventional visual connection between the outdoor and the indoor – with vast floor-to-ceiling glass windows at the reception and the main exhibition space, the urban life of the Roppongi neigbourhood is heavily integrated into the daily life of Perrotin.

Respect for the local Japanese culture which values privacy was an essential consideration for Fu to incorporate in his design and he has provided an elegant solution with an intimate foyer reception area serving as an intermediate space on arrival, providing a significant contrast in its proportions to the main exhibition room beyond. The main exhibition space is adorned with solid washed oak floorboards that evoke a sense of understated modernity. A matrix of meticulously considered lighting system has also been incorporated into the space to allow flexibility when lighting exhibitions.

As well as the exhibition space that conveys a visual purity through his design, Fu has also introduced a Salon at the rear end of the gallery. The Salon allows more private discussions and a place for friends of the gallery to have a moment of quiet retreat from the city beyond.