John Pawson

This is the first exhibition of John Pawson to be presented in a museum, and it is designed by John Pawson himself, who has arranged the installation thematically in order to highlight the elements that feature in his work. John Pawson (Halifax, Yorkshire 1949) was educated at Eton College and studied with the Architectural Association. He has lived in India and Australia, and in the mid-seventies he taught at the Nagoya Commercial University in Japan. He came to architecture relatively late, when he was in his thirties and had already spent several years working in the family textile business. Far from being a drawback, this gave his early designs an unexpected maturity and evident self-confidence. He is mainly concerned with studying space, light, proportions and materials without lapsing into stylistic mannerisms. His friendship with the Japanese architect Shiro Kumata provided him with some of the keys to the poetic simplicity that is reflected in his work. As Bruce Chatwin said: “In a sense, Pawson’s architecture is an exercise in control, in suppression of the feeling of oppression produced by the accumulation of items and the visual chaos of superfluous complexity. He persists in eliminating the interference of weighty proportions and the constant irritation of obvious encumbrances. In their place he offers the comfort of exactness, of small things well done.” Pawson’s architecture achieves a balance between intellectual considerations, theoretical priorities and the material aspects of design, without overlooking the sensuality of the qualities selected. Expertise and a knowledge of materials and their possibilities are foremost in Pawson’s designs; yet a display of craftsmanship is not the aim that he pursues. On the contrary, his absolute skill and mastery in the treatment of materials do not lose their humility and remain hidden and almost invisible. His architectural output is not very extensive and concentrates mainly on interiors. However, there is a characteristic diversity in his projects, which range from art galleries and art centres to apartments, shops and restaurants. The exquisite care in the design and the tireless search for purity through the simplicity of his proposals often lead his work to be considered as art rather than as architecture.