Emiko Aida, Reverie in the Sky, 2009. Courtesy of the artist.

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP - Art Exhibition
Sound of Water: Feminine Expressions of Fluidity

Dates:
June 20, 2026 - January 3, 2027

Hours:
10am-4pm daily

Location:
Sturt Haaga Gallery at Descanso Gardens
1418 Descanso Drive, La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011
Entry included in the price of admission or membership

Visit the Descanso Gardens website

Water has long shaped life in Japan. As an island nation surrounded by the sea and nourished by abundant rainfall, Japan depends on water for its fertile landscapes and rich food sources. 

Yet water can also be unpredictable, bringing floods, typhoons, and tsunamis. Not surprisingly, the Japanese have a complex relationship with water, which has inspired Japanese art and literature for centuries—from the famous haiku by Matsuo Bashō to the famous wave cresting off the coast of Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai. 

In contemporary Japanese art, water continues to be a powerful theme. In East Asian philosophy, water is associated with yin, an element often linked with feminine energy—fluid, adaptable, and resilient. 

Sound of Water features paintings, prints, and sculptures by six Japanese women artists: Emiko Aida, Miya Ando, Yumiko Glover, Mineko Grimmer, Margaret Yuko Kimura, and Ayomi Yoshida. 

Their works explore water’s many moods and manifestations —serene and soft, yet also powerful and unpredictable—inviting us to consider our own relationship with this essential element as we face climatic extremes throughout the world. 

The exhibition celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Japanese Garden at Descanso Gardens and is curated by Japanese art historian Meher McArthur. 

Sound of Water: Feminine Expressions of Fluidity and its programs are generously funded, in part, by Perenchio Foundation, Pasadena Art Alliance, and an endowment from Heather Sturt Haaga and Paul G. Haaga, Jr. The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles, is a Community Partner for this exhibition.