West Palm Beach September 2026

10 W E S T PA L M B E A C H | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 6 - Submitted by Sally Shorr | Photos provided by Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens - COMMUNITY F or centuries, Japanese printmakers have carved intricate designs into blocks of wood, applied ink to their raised surfaces, and transferred the images onto paper to create meticulously rendered works celebrated for their color and craftsmanship. An unlikely master of this distinctly Japanese art form, American artist Clifton Karhu (1927-2007) developed Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens a recognizable style defined by bold outlines, structured compositions, and saturated color. His work will be featured in Clifton Karhu: An American in Kyoto , on view from October 3, 2026, through January 17, 2027, at Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens. Drawn entirely from Morikami’s collection, the exhibition will bring together 51 works in two rotations of Karhu’s woodblock prints, ceramic works, and stone works, presenting the artistic range of one of the most prominent foreign-born artists in Japan’s modern printmaking community. His woodblock compositions depict townhouses, temple gates, latticed windows, tiled roofs, gardens, castles, and streetscapes, reflecting his enduring fascination with Japan’s traditional architecture. Born in Duluth, Minnesota, in 1927, Karhu first encountered Japan while serving in the U.S. military and spent two years at the naval base in Sasebo on Kyushu. After studying at the Minneapolis School of Art from 1950 to 1952, he returned to Japan in 1955 as a missionary. He later left the ministry and resumed his study of art, learning woodblock printmaking and traditional brush painting before establishing his career in Kyoto. Karhu achieved an uncommon level of acceptance and authority as an American artist working in a Japanese medium. He became the first non- Japanese artist admitted as a member of the Japan Print Association, exhibited with the organization annually from 1964 through 1998, and was elected its Kyoto representative in 1977. He also participated annually in the College Women’s Association of Japan Print Show for 40 years and presented numerous solo exhibitions throughout Japan, the United States, Southeast Asia, and Europe. During his lifetime, Karhu carved and printed more than 1,500 images, many inspired by the architecture of Kyoto and Kanazawa. His career included solo retrospectives at the Tweed Museum of Art in Duluth in 1986 and the Retretti Art Center in Finland in 1990, as well as AN AMERICAN IN KYOTO, TRACING A DISTINGUISHED CAREER IN JAPANESE WOODBLOCK PRINTMAKING Clifton Karhu PRESENTS