Art Exhibition
Guardians of Beringia: Kami Kamuy - A Ceramic Retrospective on Ainu, Shinto, and Native American Spirit Worlds

Dates:
March 5 - April 9, 2026

Hours:
Mon-Fri 12:00pm-6:00pm, Sat 10:00am-3:00pm
Closed on Sundays & Holidays (March 20)

Location:
Steam Gallery at The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles
5700 Wilshire Blvd, Ste 100, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Free Admission

Opening Reception:
7PM Thursday, March 5

RSVP preferred

“KAMI KAMUY” presents an immersive synthesis of sculpture and sound that explores the spiritual convergences spanning the Pacific Rim. In this transpacific dialogue, Visual Anthropologist and artist Dr. Luis Garza (Lou Garza) visually articulates the syncretism between the Ainu concept of Kamuy (nature spirits), the Shinto worship of Kami (deities), and the Mesoamerican notion of Nawal (spiritual force). The exhibition posits that these ancestral cosmogonies are not archaic vestiges, but vital philosophies essential to reimagining our contemporary relationship with the environment. 

Moving beyond static display, the exhibition fosters a participatory environment designed to re-engage the observer with these nature-centric worldviews. Through the medium of clay and sound, the work reveals that for nomadic and sedentary societies—from the Ainu of Japan to the Tzeltal of Mexico—the boundaries between human and non-human were fluid. Nature was perceived as a community of mythic protagonists intimately woven into human daily life. Dr. Garza’s art manifests the latent continuity of this Proto-Asiatic lineage embedded in our cultural memory, inviting the audience to feel the enduring relevance of these animistic frameworks. 

The project’s artistic genesis occurred under the specific environmental conditions of the northern Japanese winter during a residency at the Sapporo Tenjinyama Art Studio. Realized under the direction of Mami Odai and her team, the work is visually grounded in the Hokkaido landscape and developed with the essential cultural guidance of the Ainu Promotion Center. 

While aesthetic in nature, the exhibition is substantiated by rigorous anthropological research supported by Japan's leading academic institutions. The conceptual framework was refined at the Kyoto University of Art and Design (Kyobi) and the Design Research Institute, through critical dialogue with Dr. Shunichiro Higashi and Sensei Kawajiri. Expanding the scope, Dr. Garza collaborated with Dr. Hisa Nimi and Dr. Juan Carlos Chacon of Chiba University to trace the structural parallels between Japanese animism and American mythologies. 

Visually, the exhibition features totems and vessels executed in high-temperature ceramics (Cone 6 and 10), produced with the technical support of Still Life Ceramics in Los Angeles. These pieces utilize natural minerals to evoke the shared geological origins of the Pacific continents. Transforming the gallery into a ritualistic space, the ceramic works are activated by an immersive soundscape created by musician Mikel Kuhn. This multisensory collaboration grants a phenomenological presence to the sculptures, allowing the participant to experience the liminal space where the human and the sacred intersect. 

About the Artist:

Dr. Luis Garza (Lou Garza) is a Portuguese visual anthropologist and artist based in Los Angeles, whose multidisciplinary career spans nearly three decades. Academically, he holds a Ph.D. in Visual Anthropology and an M.F.A. from the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL), alongside a degree in Architecture from the Tec de Monterrey. This unique combination of rigorous social science and architectural discipline informs the structural and conceptual depth of his work.

His practice operates at the intersection of ethnography, mythology, and contemporary art. Dr. Garza views the role of the artist-anthropologist as a mediator of fading cosmogonies, tasked with giving tangible form to the sacred archetypes that persist within the post-modern digital era. Through his research and sculpture, he bridges the gap between the ancient traditions of Japan and the Americas, reconstructing "endangered" spiritual narratives for a modern audience.