Isamu Noguchi Award presented to John Pawson and Hiroshi Senju

British architectural designer John Pawson and Japanese painter Hiroshi Senju have been awarded the 2017 Isamu Noguchi Award, to be presented by the Noguchi Museum in Long Island City, New York, in May.

The museum was founded and designed by its namesake, the Japanese-American artist and landscape architect best known for his minimalist sculptures, midcentury furniture, and public projects.

The annual award, now in its fourth year, honors individuals “who share Noguchi’s spirit of innovation, global consciousness, and commitment to East/West cultural exchange.”

Photos via The Noguchi Museum

John Pawson, a master of minimalist architecture, has created an impressive body of work over a 30-plus-year-long career that includes private residences, galleries, hotels, sacred commissions, bridges, ballet sets, and yacht interiors. Pawson spent several years in Japan before returning to England, enrolling at the Architectural Association in London, then establishing his own practice in 1981.

Hiroshi Senju’s oeuvre is characterized by paintings of waterfalls and cliffs, which are often rendered in monumental scale in public installations. Also minimalist in his approach, Senju combines techniques based in Abstract Expressionism and the ancient Japanese nihonga style of painting. The latter practice involves the use of pigments made from minerals, ground stone, shell, and corals on mulberry paper. The Hiroshi Senju Museum Karuizawa opened in Japan in 2011.

Via: ArchDaily