Niigata · JP

「灯台」蔡國強

Titled "Lighthouse" (灯台), this sculpture by the Chinese-born contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang (蔡國強) sits on the riverside lawn of Bandojima in Chuo Ward, Niigata. It is a single enormous natural stone, shipped from China and hollowed out from within, left raw and quiet against the open water at the mouth of the Shinano River. It was commissioned for the opening of the neighbouring Toki Messe convention complex and installed in 2003 as part of a set of five outdoor artworks by leading international artists, planned around the theme of a "sense of a beginning" for the new century. Cai Guo-Qiang is best known for works made with gunpowder and for large-scale public projects, and a Golden Lion at the 1999 Venice Biennale cemented his international reputation; "Lighthouse" is one of his rare permanent outdoor sculptures in Japan.