AN art exhibition themed “Beyond: Tadao Ando and Art”recently opened at the He Art Museum at Shunde in Foshan, Guangdong Province. The exhibition aims to explore Japanese Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Tadao Ando’s artistic ideas and creations and features works by artists who have deeply influenced Ando’s creative work, including Pablo Picasso, Ellsworth Kelly, and Alexander Calder. The He Art Museum, designed by Ando, opened to the public Oct. 1, 2020. Believing that art goes beyond borders, Ando intended to create an art museum that is unconventional — a building nurtured by nature as reflected in the design of He Art Museum. A symbolic structure within the art museum is an atrium with double-helix staircases. Every year around the March Equinox that falls between March 19 and 21 in the Northern Hemisphere, natural light sheds in the atrium through the roof, creating an awe-inspiring view. The exhibition is divided into three parts: “Beyond Art,”“Beyond Light,” and “Beyond Ando.” In the “Beyond Art” session, “Male and female bodies,” a large-size oil painting by Pablo Picasso has been put on display for the first time. Through deconstructing smooth lines in a space and reconstructing them, and embedding the painting into the new structure, Ando creates a new space with cubist features. ANDO BOX, a collection of Ando’s architectural drawings and photographs, is also on display to unveil the architect’s spiritual world he built over the past 50 years. Other exhibits include an art installation by U.S. sculptor Alexander Calder, an oil painting by Japanese artist Kazuo Shiraga along with his representative works from the Chichu Art Museum in Naoshima Japan. In addition to the art museum, there are many more adventures to explore in Shunde. Here are some recommendations: He Garden (和園): A featured Lingnan-style garden When we talk about Chinese gardens, the first thing we think of may be Suzhou’s classical gardens. In traditional Chinese garden landscape design, however, there are three different schools, namely the North China gardens, the Jiangnan-style gardens, and the Lingnan-style gardens. Lingnan-style gardens feature a practical and exquisite design, and He Garden, located near the above-mentioned art museum, is one of them. A fusion of different eras’ garden designs, ranging from the 14th century to modern times, He Garden takes you on an amazing journey to the Lingnan region in the old days. A bridge that runs over a murmuring brook and a corridor that links carefully designed pavilions conjure a painting of a traditional water village in the Lingnan area. The World of Flowers in Chencun (陳村花卉世界): A Chelsea Flower Show in Shunde With a history of more than 2,000 years in gardening, Chencun is also known as a “thousand-year-old flower town” and “China’s No.1 Town of Gardening.” With rich arrays of flowers and plants, the World of Lowers in Chencun is like London’s Chelsea Flower Show. Whether you are looking for tiny succulent pots or expensive, large bonsai trees, you will never be disappointed. A recommended hotel is Midea Shunde Foshan Tribute Portfolio. It is a five minutes’ drive from the art museum, 1.5 kilometers away from He Garden, and only 200 meters away from an international golf course. （Lin Lin） | 