GARDEN
OF RESONANCE :THE ART OF

JUNKANEKO
OCT 1, 2022
THROUGHFEB 20, 2023

THE EXHIBITION

Kozo Miyoshi,
shot at Fremont Project ca. 1993

Towering above or nestled discreetly amid the moss and leavesof Portland Japanese Garden, Jun Kaneko’s artworks are as
varied as nature itself. No matter how different in shape ormaterial, to him each piece is a surface primed to unleash hisboundless creativity. Throughout his 60 years of activity, Kaneko
has ventured into many forms of media: painting, drawing, glass,and clay. With every material, he sets out to test and expand
their visual and physical qualities. Garden of Resonance: TheArt of Jun Kaneko presents a key selection of his mesmerizing,otherworldly sculptures merged into the Garden’s spaces, alongwith a collection of his small format works on display in thePavilion Gallery.

“When I am painting, suddenly I

To allow his artworks to connect with their surroundings andwith viewers, Kaneko refuses to define his work’s story. Instead,he aims for the art to resonate with the space and people
around it. To him, space is not something abstract, but is aliveand organic, creating interactions between his works and theenvironment they’re situated within. Walking through Portland
Japanese Garden, a space that is at once familiar and filledwith a sense of exploration, Jun Kaneko’s works accentuate thelandscape. Experience is the key to engaging with the world
around us and Kaneko’s art calls to be felt through each person’sindividual lens. We invite you to clear your mind and experience
these works for yourself.

that the work was done. Was it thearrive at a feeling that this is it.
It’s done. One second before that,
I would never have guessed thepainting would be finished in thenext moment. Days later, I may try
to understand what made me feelcomposition? Was it the color?
Nothing gives me a convincing
answer. I just look at it and I feelthat it is done. This feeling happens
when I make that one last move togive the best sense of everything
happening in the work.”

Artwork is available for purchase:
please inquire with staff onsite or at art@japanesegarden.org
Quotes found throughout this guide are by Jun Kaneko.
23THE ARTISTFrom Nagoya, Japan to California, and eventually Nebraska—
Jun Kaneko’s life is as layered as his work as an artist. From ayoung age, Kaneko’s passion for drawing superseded his interestin formal education. With his mother’s support, he pursued art
during the day and completed his high school education at night.
In 1963, with aspirations to become a painter, Kaneko packed hisbags and bought a one-way ticket for Los Angeles. Brazen anddetermined, not knowing the language and without enough cash
to purchase a return flight, Kaneko embarked on an odyssey thatwould shape his artistic trajectory and personal destiny. Whilein Los Angeles, Kaneko was introduced to the California Clay
Movement. Through seeing, touching, and rearranging ceramic
sculptures, his interest in the possibilities of clay was ignited.
After a motley education in clay arts, Kaneko went on to teach,exhibit, and participate in artist residencies across the globe.
In 1982, at the invitation of Ree Schonlau, Kaneko was invited
to a workshop in Omaha, Nebraska. Using an industrial-grade
beehive kiln on the grounds of Omaha Brickworks, Kaneko
began to experiment with giant, hand-built, oval clay structures.

4Laurie & Charles Kay

These 3,000-pound colossuses were the genesis of hissignature “Dango,” elliptical sculptures of different sizes thatwould exemplify the public image of his artistry for more than
40 years. Jun Kaneko eventually settled in Omaha, a place thatenabled him to produce on a large scale with few interruptions.
With the vision and guidance of Ree, who married Jun and
was at the vortex of his career and evolution as an artist andcreative brand, the Kanekos have had an unparalleled impact
on Omaha’s community. They’ve created studio and exhibition
spaces, established residency programs, and founded KANEKO,a creativity center to inspire future generations.

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MAP OF ART PIECES
67

The first sculpture you encounter
when approaching the Garden
embodies Kaneko’s taste forexperimentation. Placed in thefountain near the Tanabe Welcome
Center, the work looms like a
prehistoric monolith made of
crystallized rock. As the spectator
approaches, the sculpture’s
reflection in the fountain doubles
the work’s presence. The towering
shape feels foreboding and intimate
at the same time. The surface atonce looks solid and liquid, likecascading water. By firing the workin a large industrial kiln used formaking pipes, Kaneko injected theglaze with wavy gradations that
almost seem to capture the fire’s
movement across the surface. Theeffect is striking from near and afar.

Jun Kaneko, Untitled, 2005,
hand built and glazed ceramics,
103” h x 55.5” w x 23” d89Leading up the Entry Garden path from the Antique
Gate, you will catch a glimpse of Kaneko’s take on afamiliar blue and white glaze, originally from China but
avidly emulated in the Netherlands through Delftware
pottery. When examined closely, the surface of thedarker top reveals gradations in color and thickness—aresult of Kaneko’s hand-painted glaze application. It isthrough details like these that Kaneko reminds us of
the emphatically hand-made aspect of his works. Likea garment woven from water, the blue runs down thesurface in a spectral veil, akin to thin threads woven
together with the white underneath.
Kaneko perfected this running glaze effect years aftera residency at the European Ceramic Work Center in
the Netherlands. While there, Kaneko observed how
artists dismissed pieces as imperfect, second-rate
objects if the glaze had run. Instead, Kaneko embraced
this natural quality of the glaze and began toexperiment by varying the firing temperatures, positionof the works inside the kiln, and glaze consistencies totease out different effects of creating a running blue.
Jun Kaneko, Untitled, 2020, hand built and glazed ceramics, 38.75” h x 26.5” w x 16.5” d“I was half joking when I told them that running glaze would be better than fixed glaze.”

Ascending the stairs to the Cultural Village, youencounter other ways in which Kaneko masteredshades of blue – the color of water and sky. Greeting
you at the top of the stairs in the Margueritte Drake
Sculpture Terrace is a Dango with Kaneko’s signature
dots. Its glaze seeps downward as if pulled towards
the earth by gravity.
Jun Kaneko, Untitled, 2020, hand built and glazed ceramics, 35.5” h x 36.5” w x 14” d1011

In the Atsuhiko and Ina Goodwin Tateuchi Foundation Courtyard, you
encounter two large Heads, one with abbreviated facial features alongsidea faceless partner. The concentric lines of one Head seem to converse withthe spiral on the other, as if spellbound by their circular movement. The
serene, meditative facial expression is juxtaposed with the imperfection ofthe lines, that have rims that seep downward in a feeling of perpetual fluidity.
12

Inside the kiln and out, Kaneko’s Heads seem like ancient statues that at once command
their surrounding space and exist in unison with it. While the lion’s share of Kaneko’s work
is abstract, around 1993, he began to touch on representation by creating pairs of gigantic
Heads, like these. Their presence invites us to look closer and engage in conversation,
resonating with the purpose of the Cultural Village as a place to explore the intersection of art,culture, and nature.
Jun Kaneko, Untitled, 2014, hand built and glazed ceramics, 100” h x 54” w x 48” d and 102” h x 54” w x 48” d13Everyone's experience is different. Jun Kaneko acknowledges
that visitor encounters with his artwork can be as varied andas original as each individual’s character. Kaneko hesitates todictate the meaning of his works, instead allowing their effectto speak to each person interacting with them. Kaneko nevernames his artworks—unless absolutely necessary. To him, aname creates associations. Instead, he wishes for his artworks
to be allowed to tell their own stories.
Jun Kaneko, Untitled, 2019, Hand built and glazed ceramics, 38.75” h x 26.5” w x 16.5” d“It might sound really naïve, but the real reason for doing my work is curiosity. My pure, personal
curiosity of searching myself and then searching my directions, nothing more than that... I try tostay as pure as possible, to be honest to myself, to search myself, to express what I feel.”

As you wander past the Upper Pond, two of Kaneko’s blue
Dango sit along the waterside. Kaneko glazes each Dangoby hand, using traditional Japanese-made brushes, allowing
their subtle variations in size and shape to speak to him whenchoosing the right design. Together or as separate sculptures,the Dango can seem like monuments from ancient civilizations
or pods arriving from another world. Kaneko conceals theirceramic nature while at the same time celebrating the uniquequalities of clay and glaze. The results are sculptures that arestrikingly tactile and perfectly imperfect. From a distance they
can seem industrial and remote, but their remoteness vanishes
in how they interact with the environment.
Jun Kaneko, Untitled, 2018, hand built and glazed ceramics, 10.5” h x 12” w x 14.5” d
Jun Kaneko, Untitled, 2022, hand built and glazed ceramics, 25.5” h x 15” w x 9.5” d1415

As you arrive at the Mt. Hood Overlook,
another monolith beckons. The surface
is covered in an uneven glaze made from
off-white slip, a clay slurry, that gives it anaged, almost archaeological look. On oneside, Kaneko painted a perfect circle withglazed edges that trickle down in a manner
resembling a waterfall. The circle seems
like a hazy moon, with Kaneko inviting
his audience to a moon-viewing in broad
daylight.

Jun Kaneko, Untitled, 2017,
hand built and glazed ceramics,
88.25” h x 30.5” w x 22.75” d16

On the other side, he painted a squarewith an oozing effect that dilutes its rigid
geometry in much the same way as thecircle. As otherworldly as sculptures likethese may seem, each have an uncanny
ability to engage with their environment,
whether it be within a white cube of an art
gallery or the curated nature of a Japanesegarden.

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- PAVILION GALLERY

Kaneko notes that each material he uses has unique physical qualities.
Everything can be a surface for artistic expression. This belief is especiallyapparent in his two-dimensional works like tiles, drawings, and paintings.
Beginning as a painter in his teens, Kaneko’s love for that medium never wentaway.

Jun Kaneko’s career as an artist is marked by an experimental spirit thatreflects his lifelong aversion to rigid rules. This spirit translates vividly into hisworks in the Pavilion Gallery. In fact, three-quarters of Kaneko’s incredibly
prolific body of work has been in small-format sculptures, two-dimensional
objects, and drawings. The variety of forms in Kaneko’s smaller sculptures laybare their purpose as non-utilitarian, experimental objects where the artist
tests out new ways of bending the qualities of clay and glaze.

The drawings and paintings in this exhibition showcase his fascination
with the way fluid and abstract strokes can embody his energy flow, whileinteracting with the surface and surrounding details. Ceramics require a slow,
more deliberate process where the final colors and effects on their surfaces
are revealed only after a lengthy kiln firing. In contrast, drawing and paintings
enable Kaneko to see results immediately, the spontaneity of which appeals to
his creative energy and exploratory spirit.

“If you are not curious, your artwork suffers a lot.”“Everything is a surface.”- LEARNING CENTER
Lines are ever-present in Kaneko’swork. On permanent display in theJordan Schnitzer Japanese Artsand Learning Center are a seriesof Kaneko’s wall tiles, a gift from
Portland’s Bullseye Glass Company.
Individually, each tile is an abstract
work of art, but in combination theytake on the role of an almost sitespecific installation that transcends
its parts. Kaneko likens the rigid yetorganic lines that define some of his
work to the ridges of a Japanese rockgarden. The tiles together create afeeling of looking at the ripples of aquiet ocean or the surface of the Sandand Stone Garden.
1819

WHY ART IN THE GARDEN?
Portland Japanese Garden is a work of art in its own right; incorporating the nativeplants and scenery of the Pacific Northwest with concepts based on traditional
Japanese Garden principles. As a living, growing, and changing piece of landscapeart that strives for a sense of unity between nature and architecture known as teioku
ichinyo (庭屋一如), a Japanese garden is a natural venue to explore art and newthought. Originally founded to serve as a bridge between cultures, the past 60 years
have seen Portland Japanese Garden’s mission evolve to elevate the impactful role art
plays in nurturing mutual understanding. For nearly 15 years, our art exhibitions haveshared the essence of Japanese culture, while reflecting the beauty of the Garden.
As you explore this monumental exhibition of Jun Kaneko’s work, we invite you to
consider the Japanese concept of ma (間), an awareness of space. Ma communicatesa sense of place in respect to one’s relationship with the whole, making the spacearound and between things, the silent pauses in speech, or the negative space in acomposition, important and meaningful. How does Garden of Resonance influence
your experience of Portland Japanese Garden?
Artwork is available for purchase:
please inquire with staff onsite or at art@japanesegarden.org

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Exhibition Contributor Dr. Frank Feltens
Japan Foundation Associate Curator of Japanese Art at Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery,
the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art
Contributing Editor Eileen Begley
Photography on pages 2, 4, 5, 10, 12-15, 18, & 19 by Jonathan Ley

E XHIBITION SPONSORS