Jun Kaneko Sculpture at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens on View Beginning in May

Jun Kaneko is an internationally-renowned ceramic artist specializing in large-scale, hand-built sculptures. His work has been collected by major museums and appeared in high profile exhibitions and public art installations, gaining him popular and critical acclaim across the United States and around the world. As the inside of the Dixon museum undergoes critical structural and infrastructural repairs and improvements, Jun Kaneko's powerful ceramic sculptures will be on view in the Dixon Gardens. The exhibition will open on May 28th, and it will be the most ambitious outdoor sculpture exhibition in Dixon history.

Kaneko, born in Japan in 1942, has been based in Omaha, Nebraska, since 1986. There, he owns and operates the world's largest non-industrial kiln. Kaneko has been a pioneer in pushing the limits of scale in ceramic media. In 1996, he wrote, "If everything in the world was the same size, we probably would not need an idea of scale. Nothing exists by itself. Everything is influenced by the other things next to it or close by or the environment which the object is in." By creating monumental ceramic sculpture, Kaneko challenges preconceived notions of dimensions and context, making his work perfectly suited for outdoor installations, such as the Dixon gardens.

Kaneko's large, monolithic sculptures are colorful, approachable, and visually interactive. Taking into account their shapes, sizes, colors, and placement throughout every

verdant and changing corner, the sculptures will interact with the gardens throughout three seasons. The garden plantings have been enhanced, taking cues from the geometry found in Kaneko's works to connect these sculptures to the landscape. A map will guide visitors to each sculpture, creating an experience that allows adults and children alike to discover the beauty of all seventeen acres of the Dixon gardens through Kaneko's sculpture.

The opening lecture for Jun Kaneko Sculpture at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens with Jun Kaneko will be on Thursday, May 28th at 5:30 pm in the Hughes Pavilion at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens.

Jun Kaneko, Untitled, Pittsburg head, 2007, glazed ceramic, 123"h x 64"w x 80"d Outside Kaneko: Lauritzen Gardens, Omaha, NE, Spring/Summer 2011
Photo credit: Takashi Hatakeyama