Art Exhibitions

Press Releases Art Exhibitions

First Art Exhibition of 2025 at Portland Japanese Garden Features Contemporary Bizen Ceramics Based on 900-Year Tradition

Portland Japanese Garden is excited to present its first new art exhibition of 2025 with Earthen Elegance: The Ceramic Art of Bizen. Opening Saturday, February 8 and running through June 9 in the Pavilion Gallery, this exhibition celebrates contemporary ceramic art and vessels that preserve a time-honored collaboration of earth, fire, and the artist’s hand.

Garden Path Art Exhibitions

2025 Art Exhibitions Preview

In 2025, the Garden’s exhibitions highlight a diverse range of Japanese cultural traditions and artforms, including a selection of ceramics from Japan’s famous Bizen region as well as the art inherent in Japanese gardens themselves. These exhibitions aim to share the ideas and aesthetics integral to the fabric of life in Japan. Here, we share a preview of what to expect in the upcoming year.

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Exhibiting Artist Profile: Naoko Fukumaru

On September 28, Portland Japanese Garden debuted its final art exhibition of 2024, Kintsugi: The Restorative Art of Naoko Fukumaru. In both the Pavilion and Calvin and Mayho Tanabe Galleries, the show will feature the artwork of kintsugi artist and master conservator Naoko Fukumaru. “Kintsugi is a five-hundred-year-old Japanese method of restoring damaged ceramics with natural urushi lacquer dusted with powdered gold, seen as enhancing beauty by celebrating imperfection and impermanence,” shares Fukumaru.

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Culture, Art, & Education Art Exhibitions

Subtle Expressions of Culture: Peter and Beverly Sinton Discuss Donation of Japanese Textiles to Portland Japanese Garden

Portland Japanese Garden is excited to showcase the art of gift-giving through the exhibition Painting with Thread: The Art and Culture of Fukusa, featured in the Calvin and Mayho Tanabe Gallery from June 22 through September 16. Fukusa are ornate works of Japanese silk that were traditionally used in formal gift-giving rituals amongst prominent families in Japan starting around 350 years ago during the Edo period (1603-1868). The fukusa (gift covers) featured in the exhibition were generously donated along with a collection of uchishiki (decorated altar cloths) to the organization by San Francisco residents Peter and Beverly Sinton, longtime fans and collectors of Japanese textiles. This exhibition marks the first time the nuanced artistry of fukusa has been displayed in Portland Japanese Garden.  

Press Releases Art Exhibitions

SPREAD PEACE: Wish Tree by Yoko Ono Global Interactive Art Installation to Open at Portland Japanese Garden

Led by Japan Institute of Portland Japanese Garden, an American nonprofit organization and cultural institution based in Portland, Oregon, public gardens around the world will present the collaborative installation: SPREAD PEACE: Wish Tree by Yoko Ono. The Wish Tree will show simultaneously from June 7-10 at Portland Japanese Garden in the U.S., Keihanna Commemorative Garden in Japan, Kokoro no Niwa in Chile, and Johannesburg Botanical Gardens in South Africa. This collaboration expands on the YOKO ONO: PEACE is POWER exhibition showing at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway. SPREAD PEACE: Wish Tree by Yoko Ono in Portland Japanese Garden will be displayed in the attraction’s Cultural Village.

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Each and Every Light: New Garden Exhibitions Showcase the Beauty of Sapporo and Hokkaido

In an effort to heal the lingering division of World War II, Portland, Oregon and Sapporo, Hokkaido reached across the Pacific to become sister cities 65 years ago this year. To commemorate this longtime friendship, Portland Japanese Garden presents Vision of Place, two photography exhibitions sharing different perspectives of Hokkaido and its capital city of Sapporo.

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A Look Ahead to 2024 Art Exhibitions at Portland Japanese Garden

In 2024, Portland Japanese Garden’s exhibitions will focus on the wealth of Japanese culture collected by our community close to home as well as Portland’s sister-city relationship with Sapporo, Japan all set within the peaceful and carefully curated landscape of the Garden. Mark your calendars as we share a preview of what to expect in the upcoming year.