Installation view, Craft Garden: Landscape of Japanese Art

Craft Garden: Landscape of Japanese Art
Closing Saturday, June 28, 2025
35 N Moore Street, NYC

Don’t miss the final days of Craft Garden: Landscape of Japanese Art at Ippodo Gallery before it closes on June 28! Featuring around twenty living artists who envision the philosophy of the Japanese garden in ceramics, lacquer, bamboo & plant fibers, glass, metal, wood, and painting, this mesmerizing exhibition is not to be missed.

The Japanese garden, amongst the pond, trees, rocks, and moss, is a place to discover the fundamental attitude of coexistence between nature and humans. In the face of common natural disasters, this relationship defines the harmonious, yet resilient, Japanese lifestyle. Classical architecture such as the sitting veranda engawa connects inside and outside spaces. There is a closeness to nature; at a low viewing angle, aromas are most fragrant, shadows create beautiful vignettes, and sounds of the river current are peaceful. From this vantage, the sensory experience draws focus to craftsmanship where a glaze holds an entire cosmos.

The passage of time and change of the four seasons transpire with imperfection. A unique character emerges with appreciation for decay, weathering, asymmetry, or the ‘kiln-effect.’ The inextricable link between fine art craft and the garden is articulated as the transient wabi-sabi aesthetic; these artists exemplify this through different approaches.

To learn more and catch a glimpse of this poetic show, click here.