Harmonious: Jun Kaneko’s works spur ‘freedom of thinking’ amid Japanese garden’s tranquility

When Japanese American artist Jun Kaneko was first approached by Portland Japanese Garden staff to host an exhibition, he didn’t respond to them for weeks on end.

“I had it on my table for about two months,” Kaneko says.

It wasn’t the logistics that worried the artist — his hands hold decades of experience in creating larger-than-life ceramic statues for exhibitions across the globe — but rather how his work might take away from the garden.

“The garden is already complete. It’s a beautiful garden… So if I put my piece, there is a big chance of disturbing the existing beautiful garden. I said, ‘You people should consider not to put any piece for the show in the garden, because I’m really afraid.’”

However, the garden management was persistent. They ultimately put Kaneko’s worries to rest by designing the exhibition in a way that almost feels like a scavenger hunt without disturbing the intricate ecosystem of the garden.

Today, Kaneko’s structures carefully mingle with the green and auburn expanse of the garden.