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Gateway to Himalayan Art is a special exhibition that introduces the main forms, concepts, meanings, and living traditions of Himalayan art. The exhibition features sublime religious art created from the 13th through the 21st centuries in Tibet, Nepal, China, and Mongolia, drawn from the permanent collection of the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, which organized the exhibition. 

At the start of the exhibition, a multimedia map orients visitors to the greater Himalayan region, which encompasses Indian, Nepalese, Bhutanese, and Tibetan cultures as well as interrelated Mongolian and Chinese traditions. Gateway to Himalayan Art invites exploration of these diverse cultural spheres through exemplary objects presented in three thematic sections: Symbols and Meanings, Materials and Technologies, and Living Practices. Traditional scroll paintings (thangkas), sculptures in various media, and ritual items comprise the diverse range of objects on view. 

Exhibition Thematic Sections

The Symbols and Meanings section juxtaposes paintings and sculptures to introduce the iconography of Buddhas and bodhisattvas; Tantric, female, and wrathful deities; Hindu gods and goddesses; and spiritually accomplished humans such as arhats, Mahasiddhas, and great religious teachers (lamas).

The Materials and Technologies section features in-depth displays detailing the making of a Tibetan thangka painting, the process of Nepalese lost-wax metal casting, the creation of clay, wood, and stone sculptures, and the fabrication of manuscripts and printed texts and images. It is augmented with artists’ tools and materials, and videos.

The section on Living Practices uses paintings, sculptures, ritual implements, and medical instruments to explore sacred rituals undertaken by Buddhists to accrue spiritual merit and achieve secular aims. It also introduces traditions of narrative and instructive Buddhist paintings and concludes with an elaborate wooden shrine housing sacred images, texts, and ritual objects to encourage visitors to consider the original context of the kinds of devotional art featured in the exhibition.

This traveling exhibition is organized and provided by the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art and curated by Senior Curator of Himalayan Art Elena Pakhoutova. Gateway to Himalayan Art is an integral component of the Rubin Museum’s Project Himalayan Art, a three-part initiative that also includes the publication Himalayan Art in 108 Objects and a digital platform. Together they provide introductory resources for learning about and teaching Himalayan art.

In addition to introducing an astonishing array of beautiful and meaningful works of art, Gateway to Himalayan Art includes informative videos explaining a variety of religious, cultural, and artistic practices, audio recordings from Himalayan communities that highlight living traditions, and opportunities to dive deeper into the rich contextual material available on the Rubin’s integrated digital platform.

In conjunction with the JSMA’s presentation of Gateway to Himalayan Art, the Rubin is generously lending two additional global contemporary works by Shraddha Shrestha and Tsherin Sherpa that include elements from traditional Himalayan Buddhist art to welcome visitors in the museum lobby.

Gateway to Himalayan Art has already been shown at the Lehigh University Art Galleries in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and the McMullen Museum of Art at Boston College in 2023; the Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida in Gainesville and the Frank Museum of Art at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, in 2024; and the Utah Museum of Fine Arts at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and the Flaten Art Museum at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, in 2025. After it closes at the JSMA, the exhibition will travel to the USC Pacific Asia Museum at the University of Southern California in Pasadena.

The Rubin recently transitioned to being a “museum without walls,” sharing its collection and expertise through traveling exhibitions, object loans, grant opportunities, and partnerships with the goal of encouraging understanding and appreciation of Himalayan art worldwide.

The Craft Center is thrilled to welcome Laura McClain as our Spring 2026 Visiting Artist. Laura McClain is a wet felting artist and educator who works with wool to create functional and expressive décor, accessories, and wearables. At the heart of her practice is a method she calls Felt by Feel—a playful, embodied conversation between maker and material that allows her to stay connected to the wool’s changing textures, while tapping into her own responses as the work evolves. Laura has been creating with fiber arts since childhood and brings a balance of technical knowledge, curiosity, and fun to her teaching. To learn more about Laura McClain, please visit www.lauramcclain.art. Exhibition On View: March 30 - June 12 The Craft Center Gallery is located on the 2nd floor of the Erb Memorial Union by the Adell McMillan Gallery. Artist Talk & Reception: April 24, 12pm-1pm Join us at the Craft Center for an inspiring artist talk with Laura McClain. This event is free and open to the public. Please register at myemu.uoregon.edu. (Community Members without a Community Card must email craftctr@uoregon.edu to be added to our roster.)

Wet Felting Workshop: April 24, 1pm-4pm This hands-on workshop introduces wet felting, guiding you as you transform soft wool fibers into a strong, cohesive piece of felt. Using merino wool, water, soap, heat, and pressure, you’ll layer, embellish, and shape fibers by hand while learning how the material changes at each stage. This workshop is free. Registration is required at myemu.uoregon.edu. You must have a UO ID or Community Card to register. Space is limited.

View prints, contact sheets, editorial records, and correspondence from local legend and Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Brian Lanker (1947-2011).

Four distinctive themes and eras are on display:

• Photojournalism shot for The Eugene Register-Guard, 1974-1982
• Sports photography featuring UO athletes and events
• Iconic portraits of pop-culture figures from the 1980s and ’90s
• I Dream a World, an acclaimed portrait series of trailblazing Black women

Available to view during library open hours: https://library.uoregon.edu/knight-library-hours

Navigating Through Centuries surveys the complex trajectory of art in Korea, which was significantly impacted by socio-political upheaval and cultural developments from the fifth century to the present. The exhibition is comprised of six chronological thematic sections — from the power and religion of the Three Kingdoms period (57 BCE–668 CE), to the refined aristocratic ideals of the Goryeo (918–1392) and Confucian governance of the Joseon (1392–1910) dynasties, through vestiges of tradition after the Korean War (1950–1953), experimental practices during the modern era, and globalization of contemporary art. Each section examines how aesthetic practices respond to the evolving philosophies, ideologies, critical events, and issues of a specific historical period.

    The exhibition begins with materials from the Three Kingdoms period in which are embedded political/religious authority and communal rituals, laying the foundation for Korean cultural memory. The Goryeo dynasty section highlights the refined aesthetics and Buddhist motifs that reflect aristocratic ideals and literati culture, while also indicating Korea’s participation in East Asian cultural exchange. The Joseon section showcases art that embodies the Confucian literati values that fundamentally shaped the moral order, governance, and cultural life of the period.

    The modern and contemporary sections focus on twentieth-century art, which has continually questioned, responded to, and been shaped by the last tumultuous century of Korean history. The first postwar section features art that portrays the remnants of indigenous culture in the aftermath of the Korean War. The next section presents experimental works by artists who challenged the canon of art by blurring boundaries of cultures, genres, and mediums. The final section showcases global contemporary art by diasporic creators, many of whom have played central roles in integrating Korean art into the international mainstream.

    Navigating Through Centuries narrates the conflicted yet intertwined relationships between art and culture, individuals and communities, and socio-politics and history, inviting audiences to consider the broad history of Korea through the lens of art. The exhibition was curated by Soojin Jeong, 2023–2026 Post-Graduate Curatorial Fellow in East Asian Art, as well as Heejung Chang, 2025–2026 JSMA/Korea Foundation Global Challengers Museum Intern.