Pasadena-Based Curator Leads Descanso’s New Japanese Garden 60th Anniversary Exhibition

A contemporary art exhibition curated by Pasadena-based Japanese art historian Meher McArthur will open June 20 at Descanso Gardens, marking the 60th anniversary of the Japanese Garden within Descanso.

The exhibition, Sound of Water: Feminine Expressions of Fluidity, will run through January 3, 2027 at the Sturt Haaga Gallery.

It will feature six women artists based in Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom: Mineko Grimmer, Yumiko Glover, Miya Ando, Emiko Aida, Margaret Yuko Kimura, and Ayomi Yoshida.

Descanso’s Japanese Garden opened June 3, 1966. The one-acre garden was built with all-volunteer labor and funding from the local Japanese American community and designed by landscape architect Eijiro Nunokawa, according to the gardens.

The exhibition explores water as both a source of serenity and a force of disruption, according to the press release. The release describes works that approach water through what it calls a quieter, more contemplative lens, focusing on subtle movement, material transformation, and emotional resonance rather than spectacle.

“Descanso’s Japanese Garden is grounded in the sensory experience of water — its movement, its stillness, and even its sound,” Marina Erfle, Director of Education and Exhibitions at Descanso Gardens, said in the release. “This exhibition is a natural fit for the Gardens, extending that experience into the gallery and inviting visitors to consider how water shapes not just landscapes, but memory, emotion, and cultural identity.”

McArthur, who lives in Pasadena, was Curator of East Asian Art at the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena from 1998 to 2006 and previously curated SHIKI: The Four Seasons in Japanese Art at the Sturt Haaga Gallery in 2023.

The press release describes six featured works.

Mineko Grimmer’s Musical Vessels (1993) incorporates terracotta jars and melting ice. Yumiko Glover’s Echoes in Water (2024) spans four panels in layered acrylic. Miya Ando’s Mizukagami (The Shadow of the Moon Reflected in Water) (2019) is a large-scale stainless steel work. Emiko Aida’s Reverie in the Sky (2009) is an etching. Margaret Yuko Kimura’s Little Waves: By the Shore (2026) combines monotype, handmade kozo paper, and bark fiber. Ayomi Yoshida’s Blessed Rain (2021) is an installation of indigo-dyed washi.

Funders include the Pasadena Art Alliance, the Perenchio Foundation, and an endowment from Heather Sturt Haaga and Paul G. Haaga, Jr. The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles is a community partner.

The Sturt Haaga Gallery is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Entry to the gallery is included in the price of admission or membership. Descanso Gardens admission is $18 for adults, $14 for seniors and students with school ID, $8 for children 3 to 12, and free for children under 3. The gardens are open daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 1418 Descanso Drive, La Cañada Flintridge.

“As Descanso celebrates the 60th anniversary of its Japanese Garden, this exhibition offers a meaningful way to reflect on water’s enduring role in Japanese culture and artistic practice,” McArthur said in the release. “These artists approach water not only as an image, but as an experience — something that can calm, unsettle, and connect us more deeply to the natural world.”