The Museum of Modern Art, Gunma

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Arata Isozaki is one of the most profilic and creative personalities in contemporary architecture. The Museum of Modern Art, Gunma, arguably the architect's masterwork, was the first in a line of commissions for modern art museums on a world-wide scale. Completed in 1974 it was recently extended by Isozaki in 1994. The museum is located in the rural surroundings of the Gunma-no-Mori park, and is the most complete realization by Isozaki of a conceptual architectural approach - a pristine, essential structure composed of an arrangement of cubes taking the form of a large rectangular block with projecting wings. The 1994 addition consists of a cube added to the main entrance facade housing the new Highvision Theatre, and a restaurant which occupies part of the area beneath one of the wings.