Rie Tachikawa Interview Full [Extended]

I call it "controlled neglect." For six months before an exhibition, I stop cleaning my studio. I let dust accumulate. I let spiderwebs grow. Then, I photograph the dust patterns. Then, I vacuum everything clean. The photographs become the blueprint for where I place objects.

(Laughs) I know. I am sorry. Write it all down. But tell your readers: After you read this, close the laptop. Go sit in a room alone for ten minutes. Listen to the building sigh. That is my real interview. Part 5: Future Work & The "Un-Museum" I: What is next? Your website (which is just a black page with an email address) hints at a project called The Un-Museum . rie tachikawa interview full

Yes. In 2026, I will open a space in the Noto Peninsula. It will have no walls. No opening hours. No curator. It is just a field with a single wooden chair. Visitors will get GPS coordinates. They will walk. When they arrive, they will sit. The chair faces a wall that does not exist—a view of the sea. That is the exhibition. I call it "controlled neglect

Searching for a transcript is notoriously difficult. The artist rarely gives long-form interviews. She prefers her work to speak for itself. However, during her 2023 residency at the House of World Cultures in Berlin, Tachikawa sat for a rare, uninterrupted 90-minute conversation. Below is the complete, unedited transcript of that interview, providing unprecedented access to her creative process, her philosophy of "Ma" (間), and why she considers an empty room the most powerful canvas of all. Part 1: The Origins of Listening Interviewer (I): Rie, thank you for agreeing to a full interview. For those searching for your name, the first thing they see is the term "silent sculptor." Do you accept that title? Then, I photograph the dust patterns