SEASONAL DELICACY. The Portland Japanese Garden is currently hosting an exhibit of the sculpture of Michihiro Kosuge through February 24. Pictured is Kosuge’s metal torii gate. (AR Photo/Akiko Yamakawa)

From The Asian Reporter, V18, #8 (February 19, 2008), page 15.

By Ian Blazina

The Portland Japanese Garden is currently hosting an exhibit of the sculpture of Michihiro Kosuge, a fixture in Portland’s art scene since moving from San Francisco in 1975. Kosuge’s show is the first in the Garden’s "Art in the Garden" series, which continues through November and features pottery, glass sculpture, and bamboo art in addition to Mr. Kosuge’s metal and stone work.

Michihiro Kosuge is a career artist in the best sense. Through his thoughtful, formal, and immutable stone sculpture, Kosuge consistently produces powerful works of art without stooping to easily-recognized popular culture references or tailoring to brand identities and sale prices. He shirks the idea of the whimsical artist who effortlessly creates marketable art, while also avoiding the kind of abstracted modern style that alienates viewers who desire something visceral with which they can identify. Kosuge’s methodical and considered approach to stone sculpting results in work that is formal but not stylized, accessible but not vacuous.

To Kosuge — who received his Master of Fine Art degree from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1970 and taught art at Portland State University from 1978 to 2003 — being a working artist is an exercise in patience, hard work, and discipline. While Kosuge acknowledges the "certain kind of freedom" creating art provides, he also stresses that "working on sculpture is like questioning yourself."

The work shown in the exhibit, which is primarily made with local Columbia basalt and red granite, allows him "a connection to natural material," and his sculptures, which pay close attention to the interaction of manmade surfaces, the natural surface of the stone, and toolmarks, read as meditations on the "shape and form of stone corresponding with weight and texture."

Though the work in the show was culled from projects from 1975 to 2006, all of the pieces, especially the work installed outside, seem at home in the garden. The vertical columns of stone mirror the upward growth of the surrounding flora, and the torii gate, typically an entrance to a Shinto shrine, opens onto a view of downtown Portland.

"Historically speaking, stone is very critical for Japanese gardens," said Kosuge. "The appearance of the stone reflects the changing weather."

"The Quiet Voice of Metal and Stone: Michihiro Kosuge" is on display at the Portland Japanese Garden through February 24. The Garden is located at 611 S.W. Kingston Avenue in Portland, and is open Monday from noon to 4:00pm and Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00am to 4:00pm. For more information, call (503) 223-1321 or visit <www.japanesegarden.com>.