Subtle Intimacy: Here and There at the Portland Japanese Garden

The Portland Japanese Garden has had its first artist in residence as part of its Japan Institute program, welcoming artist Rui Sasaki. 

Sasaki collected trimmings by the gardeners while there: dead leaves, faded flowers, and technically detritus. They take on a new beauty as Sasaki fires them in sheets of glass.

There is an exhibit in the learning center where you can view (and purchase) some of the pieces separately, as well as watch a time lapse of the art in the kiln.

That provides an interesting context, but it does not convey the beauty that the lighting does.

When waiting in line for the exhibit and reading the warnings about low lighting and seeing that they were restricting how many people could go in at a time, it seemed like it could be overkill.

Once inside it took my breath away.

There is art in the construction and the display, as well as each individual panel, and the installation is set up to allow you to appreciate that.

You may notice a bubbling in the glass that can give the impression of rain, created by gases escaping n the kiln. Sasaki likes that motif, but the process is not completely predictable.

Sometimes there are larger bubbles, that can seem to frame part of the art, or perhaps to act as a vase for the plants. Sometimes it blasts right through.

There are parts that are more exquisite individually...

and then another power to the whole.

Sasaki created two other installation pieces for the garden. There is a casting of one corner of her home in Kanazawa, set up in the middle of the Kashintei Tea House.

It is obviously meant to convey thoughts of home, though I am not sure how effective it was.

Amayadori -- meaning to take shelter from the rain -- was more effective.

A series of glass stringers hung between the trees, they are transparent, but on a sunny day they took on the color of gold. At other times they might be invisible, and the view does change as you move or come from a different angle.

With the interplay of glass, nature, and light, but outdoors and set against the living garden, Amayadori makes a nice contrast with Subtle Intimacy: Here and There.

Accessibility: Subtle Intimacy is in the Pavilion Gallery, with Amayadori nearby. There is one ramp for entering the gallery, in the back, with no obstacles in the exhibit itself.

The low light could potentially be an issue, but visibility still seemed pretty good. Staff was helpful with questions.

I also finally tried the shuttle for getting up the hill. There was no one using a wheelchair at the time, so I did not get to observe that. The shuttle has two long benches facing each other, with not a lot of room in between, but I believe it allows for rearranging when there is a mobility device.

In passing, one of the staff mentioned that there are fifty steps going up. That sounded low, based on my memories, so I took that path down, counting steps. I only got to 43 before the entry and exit paths veered off, but the issue is not the number of actual steps; it is the length and the grade on the parts that are sloped.

I worry that remains a problem once at the top. There is a lot that is steep, and while not completely impassible for a wheelchair, scooter, or someone using crutches or canes, it might be really tiring and frustrating.

I am not sure that getting down to the tea house for The Corner would be worth it, but it would not be impossible.

I can only say that I found Subtle Intimacy and Amayadori really beautiful, and I was glad I saw them.

COVID: The garden itself is largely outdoors, but the pavilion and the shuttle are inside. I will say there were probably more people masked there than most other places I have been, though still the minority.

https://japanesegarden.org/events/subtle-intimacy/