Architecturally one of the most interesting museums in Japan, the National Museum of Art, Osaka is designed by famed architect César Pelli. The avant-garde metal structure looks like an art installation in itself, whose sail-like formation is inspired by the movements of bamboo. The museum space proper sits largely underground.
Located on the unofficial art island of Nakanoshima in central Osaka, the museum has one of the country’s largest collections of Japanese and international contemporary art, with most of the pieces from the 1950s onwards. These works – which cover a range of influential artists including Christian Boltanski, Chiharu Shiota, O Jun and Michio Fukuoka – are showcased on a rotating basis at the Collection Exhibition. Supplementing this is a programme of thematic temporary exhibitions.
At the museum atrium you’ll find a large-scale painting by Joan Miró, a mobile by Alexander Calder, an installation by Yoshihiro Suda, a photography work by Jiro Takamatsu and an imposing bronze sculpture by Henry Moore – all of which you can enjoy without a ticket.