Edmund de Waal, eight directions (detail), 2025. Kaolin, gold, graphite, charcoal, and wood. © Edmund de Waal. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Alzbeta Jaresova.
When Edmund de Waal’s exhibition opens at The Huntington on Saturday, Oct. 18, visitors will find his work transformed across three iconic spaces in a meditation on belonging and the stories carried by objects across time.
“The Eight Directions of the Wind: Edmund de Waal at The Huntington” features site-specific installations in the Art Gallery, the Chinese Garden, and the Japanese Garden. The yearlong exhibition runs through Oct. 26.
“This exhibition is a meditation on belonging and the stories that objects carry,” de Waal said. “Porcelain, to me, is a way to speak across cultures and time.”
In the Art Gallery, “On Sanctuary” features looted and repaired Meissen porcelain plates. The Chinese Garden hosts “On Porcelain,” juxtaposing historical shards with de Waal’s own ceramics. The Japanese Garden’s “On Shadows” presents a charred oak pavilion housing black porcelain vessels visible through shoji doors.
De Waal is renowned for his bestselling memoir “The Hare with Amber Eyes,” translated into 29 languages. The exhibition is curated by Melinda McCurdy, Phillip E. Bloom, and Robert Hori.
The Eight Directions of the Wind: Edmund de Waal at The Huntington will run Saturday, Oct. 18, at 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. For more call (626) 405-2100 or visit https://www.huntington.org/exhibitions/eight-directions-wind-edmund-de-waal-huntington. Tickets: $29 for adults; $24 for students; $13 for youth (ages 4–11); free for children under 4.
