Yoshihiro Suda: “Looking at Clematis” Vangi Sculpture Garden
“Look at the clematis and the water lilies, forget about the weeds”
A review of the “Yoshihiro Suda: Looking at Clematis” exhibition held at the Vangi Sculpture Garden in Nagaizumi-cho, Shizuoka Prefecture.
Table of contents
Yoshihiro Suda: “Looking at Clematis” Vangi Sculpture Garden
Overview
- Exhibition title: Yoshihiro Suda: “Looking at Clematis”
- Dates: April 22 (Sun) – October 30, 2018
- Location: Vangi Sculpture Garden
- Other: As of 2025, Vangi Sculpture Garden is closed
- Traveling: None
The Vangi Sculpture Garden is located on Clematis Hill, and is an art facility consisting of a two-story building and an outdoor garden. Due to a scandal involving the bank that backed the facility, the Vangi Sculpture Garden was closed and transferred to Shizuoka Prefecture, but as of 2025 there is no concrete plan for when it will reopen.
At the time, photography was allowed inside the Vangi Sculpture Garden, and all the works in this exhibition were also allowed to be photographed.
The architectural design of the Vangi Sculpture Garden was handled by Junzo Munemoto + Toshinori Shibahara / Raum Associates, and it was completed in April 2002 by Kajima Corporation.
Goods such as catalogs were sold at the shop NOHARA (closed as of 2025).
Review
leads through the automatic doors at the museum entrance to a small exhibition room where Clematis florida appears.
Going down the stairs leads to a loft-like exhibition room where Vangi’s permanent sculptures are displayed.
From here, you can get a close-up look at Michelite Clematis, Alba Plena, Clematis ‘Sophie, and Clematis montana.
From this exhibition room, you can see the underground exhibition room over the railing, where Water lilies are in bloom.
Cross the bridge that leads to the basement exhibition room and go down the stairs to reach the exhibition room.
The basement exhibition room is the main exhibition room of the museum, and apart from one small room, it is an open space with only pillars and walls, where Vangi’s permanent sculptures are on display.
Here we were able to see three works: Clematis patens, Clematis ‘Odoriba’, and Calysina Clematis.
You can also see the four clematis we saw earlier from a distance from the atrium in the basement exhibition room. The exhibition makes use of the three-dimensional space.
The flowers that Suda created in various places seem to be blooming in the cracks of the concrete.
As I walked through the dimly lit museum, Yoshihiro Suda’s works appeared and disappeared. When the works disappeared from view, they were no longer there, but when they were brought back into view, they were still there. It was as if the viewer was controlling the flow of time, and it was an exhibition that you could keep looking at forever, and it was a space that you would not want to leave.
After looking at Water Lily, I reluctantly left the museum and came out into the garden in the basement. The garden in the basement contains Vangi’s permanent works, a mirror pond, and a cafe corner, where you can view the Suda works you saw earlier in fresh form.
The cafe corner was decorated with seasonal fresh flowers, and I was able to buy herbal tea leaves. It was cloudy on the day of my visit, but the temperature was high, so I ordered an iced lemonade and cookie set.
At the time, I walked around the museum without checking the exhibition list, and later realized that I had made the mistake of missing Weeds (2018), which was on display in the video section of a small separated room.
Summary
I have seen Suda’s work in several art museums, and it is always a wonderful display in every space.
The 2018 Vangi Sculpture Garden exhibition was a wonderful exhibition that not only allowed us to view Suda’s work, but also integrated Vangi sculptures with a space filled with fresh flowers. The exhibition period was long, so I regret not being able to revisit in the fall.
As of 2025, the Vangi Sculpture Garden remains closed, but I hope it will reopen as soon as possible.
Side walk
I usually go to Clematis Hill by car, but this time I took the train and a shuttle bus from Mishima Station to get there.
In the parking lot of Clematis Hill, there is a painting called “White Lines that Became Animals” by Asai Yusuke. This will remain even during the closure in 2025.
After arriving at Clematis Hill, I went to the IZU PHOTO MUSEUM to see “The Journey of Hoshino Michio”, then to the Bernard Buffet Museum a little further away to see “Tsuguharu Foujita: The Work of Books” and “Rethinking Bernard Buffet”. After that, I had a lunch set of the giant fried fish that Torarin was staring at at the Japanese restaurant “Utsuwa Sabo” near the Vangi Sculpture Garden.
Finally, after seeing “Yoshihiro Suda: Mite Krematis” at the Vangi Sculpture Garden, I returned to Mishima Station to visit Mishima Taisha Shrine and end my trip for the day.
- Visited on August 30, 2018
Reference links
- Raum Associates
- Vangi Sculpture Garden Museum・New Building Data
- Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Vangi Sculpture Garden Museum at Clematis Hill is ready for the next generation・Crowdfunding
Update history
- 2025.5.16
Photo equipment
- LEICA TL +SUMMILUX TL 35mm +APO MACRO ELMARIT TL 60mm
Affiliate links
- Vangi Sculpture Garden・Ads by Amazon
- Vangi Sculpture Garden・Ads by Rakuten
- Yoshihiro Suda・Ads by Amazon
- Yoshihiro Suda・Ads by Rakuten
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