Makers illuminates the virtuosity of maker and material in Japan. Looking across time periods, this exhibition explores the porous boundaries between art, craft, design, and labor. Works on display range from Bizen pottery to lacquerware, hanging scroll paintings to bamboo sculpture, and metalwork that straddles the line between craft and fine art. These works invite consideration of materials and technique, as well as questions of identity and mastery—the named artist and the anonymous craftsperson—as well as function and aesthetics, and the emotional power of superbly crafted objects. Featuring many new acquisitions on view for the first time, the exhibition also nods to Portland’s own maker culture, which has long made the city a destination for creatives.
