From right: “Yako, Fire, TF” by Daniel Hojnacki (2018); “Flare” by Honda Syoryu, TAI Modern (2020); “Hisatomi” by Windy Vista (2024).
On Feb. 5, the Gamble House, 4 Westmoreland Pl. in Pasadena, will premiere “From Strand to Sculpture: Contemporary Japanese Basketry,” an exhibition of bamboo art crafted by highly skilled and specialized Japanese artists, featuring pieces on loan from the collections of Carl and Marilynn Thoma and the Thoma Foundation in Dallas.
Running through April 12, this will be the fourth contemporary art overlay presented at the Gamble House over the past 12 years. Visitors will be surprised and delighted by the mastery of the art form on display, and by the variety of works, from precise and contained vessels to dramatic sculptural forms that show the expressive power of bamboo.
All have been chosen with the theme of the elements, echoing the importance of nature as a theme in the design of the Gambles’ home.
The Gamble House is a natural venue for the display of many types of Japanese art due to the inspiration that architects Charles and Henry Greene drew from the art and design of Japan. Charles Greene, in particular, felt this connection deeply in his artistic and spiritual life over many decades.
They shared this interest in Asia with their clients, David and Mary Gamble of Cincinnati, who commissioned the home from Greene & Greene. With the house under construction in 1908, the Gambles and their two teenaged sons traveled to Japan, China, and Korea over a period of several months. The family returned with a much richer understanding of the Japanese elements that Greene & Greene had drawn from in their design, and which gave the firm’s work such distinct character on the American scene at the time.
The Gamble House and the art form of Japanese bamboo basketry share common themes: both represent a compelling intersection of art and craft, and of function and sculpture. In contrast to a conventional gallery setting, the Gamble House will provide an intriguing environment for the display of works of bamboo art with the richness of its wood surfaces, enveloping spaces, and gently glowing light.
The Gamble House will also present a robust slate of public programs to complement the exhibition, including:
• Focus tours, Feb. 15, March 1, and March 15 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. $30 for members, $40 for non-members.
In-depth, guided tours of the exhibition will focus on the artists, materials, techniques and styles in contemporary Japanese bamboo arts. Meher McArthur, Japanese art historian and former curator of East Asian Art at Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena, will lend her expertise. These one-and-a-half-hour tours are the best opportunity to get an up-close look at the works on display and explore this significant artistic legacy.
• Open house and lecture, Saturday, Feb. 28, 4 to 7 p.m. In-person: $15 members, $20 non-members. Zoom: Free for members, $8 non-members.
Experience the splendor of Japanese bamboo basketry with a self-guided tour of the exhibition followed by a lecture from bamboo art expert Robert Coffland, the founder of TAI Gallery (now TAI Modern) in Santa Fe, who now serves as president of Textile Arts, Inc., a gallery that deals in historic textiles from around the world. The lecture will take place at Ross Chapel on the Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church campus just a few steps from the Gamble House and will be broadcast on Zoom.
• Ikebana workshops, Saturday, March 7, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. $40 members, $45 non-members. Ticket price includes materials.
The Gamble House invites you to experience ikebana as its knowledgeable flower committee docents guide you through creating a floral work of art. Engage with the craft, composition, and philosophy of ikebana first-hand during this 75-minute workshop and leave with a beautiful arrangement to display in your home. The Flower Committee, one of the first committees established in the 1960s, has been creating live floral arrangements each week for the Gamble House since 1968.
• Artnight at the Gamble House, Friday, March 13, 6 to 10 p.m. Free event, presented as part of ArtNight Pasadena.
Roam the halls of the Gamble House and find inspiration in the exhibition before creating your own woven work of art. Drawing on historic basketry techniques, this hands-on workshop, led by
artist Kelly Dennis Villalba, invites participants to learn the fundamentals of basket-making — from starting a basket to incorporating pattern and personal expression — using soft coiling materials and yarn.
Throughout the evening, enjoy live music by Jazz Crosswinds, whose distinctive sound blends koto with guitar, bass, and drums, adding a musical backdrop to the night.
ArtNight is Pasadena’s signature cultural event, produced by the City of Pasadena’s Cultural Affairs Division in partnership with local cultural organizations. This dynamic arts and cultural open house showcases visual art, literary art, dance, music, and theater, and takes place annually each March and October at venues across the city.
• Sake-tasting, Friday, March 20, from 7 to 9 p.m. $40 members, $50 non-members. Must be 21 and over to attend. Valid identification required at check-in.
Sake was first consumed in Japan over 2,000 years ago, centuries before the introduction of tea to the islands. The drink was first used in religious rituals to honor the gods, but gradually it came to play a more important role in the secular lives of the Japanese and, for centuries it has been enjoyed, both hot and cold, by all levels of Japanese society.
Meher McArthur will present a brief slide lecture discussing the cultural history of sake, some of the art forms that have evolved around the drink, its production methods and the correct ways to drink it. The lecture will be followed by a guided sampling of six kinds of sake available in the U.S.
The Gamble House and Bookstore are open Tuesdays and Thursdays-Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed on Mondays and Wednesdays. For more information, call (626) 793-3334 or visit gamblehouse.org.