LOS ANAGELES — The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles is pleased to present Manifesting Icons: The Materials and Making of Buddhist Visual Culture in Asia, a major art exhibition on view from March 5 through June 2, 2026, at the Foundation’s Murasaki Hall and Courtyard Gallery. Admission is free to the public.
Opening with a public reception at 7:00 PM on Thursday, March 5, the exhibition invites visitors to explore the artistic, material, and devotional processes behind Buddhist visual culture across Asia. RSVP is preferred for the opening reception.
Drawing from Buddhist sutras that emphasize the spiritual merit gained through the creation and donation of sacred images, Manifesting Icons highlights how paintings and sculptures were historically understood as acts of devotion—pathways to accruing good karma for oneself and loved ones.
The exhibition places Buddhist sculptures and paintings alongside the raw materials and tools used in their creation, foregrounding the skilled labor, technical knowledge, and material resources required to produce these works. By emphasizing process as well as form, the exhibition reframes Buddhist art as both a spiritual and material practice.
Manifesting Icons is organized by The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles, with artworks and artifacts generously loaned by Miya Ando; Risa and Chris Engle; Yoshio Ikezaki; and from the Michael Stevenson Collection, courtesy of Windon Newton and Jeff Neff. Mineral specimens are provided by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Tools and materials are courtesy of Miya Ando, Dwight Hwang, Yoshio Ikezaki, LA Art Labs, and Michael VanHartingsveldt. Special thanks to Trevor Coopersmith for his diorama work.
Exhibition Details
Dates: March 5 – June 2, 2026
Hours: Monday–Saturday, 12:00–6:00 PM
Closed Sundays and holidays (March 20, April 29, May 24–26)
Location: Murasaki Hall and Courtyard Gallery
The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles
5700 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 100
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Admission: Free
Related Public Programs
- Meditation with Art — March 26, 7:00–7:25 PM and 7:30–7:55 PM
- Conversations on Japanese Art: The Beauty of Japanese Sculpture (Muromachi to Edo Periods) — April, date TBD, 7:00–8:30 PM
- Conversations on Japanese Art: The Beauty of Japanese Sculpture (Modern and Contemporary) — May, date TBD, 7:00–8:30 PM
- Singing Bowl Artisan and Meditation with Art — May 17, 7:00–8:30 PM
