clark center for japanese art and culture

Awesome collection of Japanese Art! Has been a gem in this area for many years. It will be missed! The collector/owner is a gracious man. However, as he ages, he cannot take care of it as he once did.

We enjoyed our visit, especially the Bonsai garden. What a surprising find, amid the almond groves and within smelling distance of a dairy! It's closing for good in summer 2015, so catch it now. The website says a bit more, but it is strange-- and has no address info at all!

This is a wonderful collection of Japanese art work that rotates every few months. Rare pieces that you find hard to see anywhere else. Twice a year they have special days where the children can learn oragami and other art. Bonsai are on display, cultural food is available. Definitely worth a visit.

The Clark Center offers a bit of Japan in the heart of California, tucked away among orchards just south of Hanford CA. The center offers surprising traditional architecture, an impressive reference library and a museum/gallery that features quarterly rotating exhibits. The center's unique outdoor Bonsai garden should not be missed!

This is a small museum and research center located on a farm south of Hanford. The grounds have a small library and office building, a small museum which you tour with a guide, and a Zen garden. You can look into Mr. Clark's Japanese garden but you can't enter. There is also a beautiful Bonsai collection that visitors can visit on their own. The display area is small so the exhibitions rotate. When we were there it was a display of exquisite lacquer work, with explanations of the different techniques. Our guide was very friendly and very knowledgable. The collection has been sold to the Minneapolis Museum of Art and will eventually be moved there, so you need to visit the Clark Center soon. It is an impressive tribute to one man's passion and collecting acumen. He saw some Japanese art in book when he was in the fifth grade, and started collecting (with some professional advice) as he could. It is one of the most significant collections in the world and includes many recent and contemporary works. It is simply breathtaking. A must see for anyone interested in Japanese art and culture.

Pleasantly surprised to find this cultural museum holding seasonal displays of treasured Japanese Art. The gardens were also a shady respite within the dry surrounding agriculture fields and desolate roads. In front is an interesting walk thru garden display of bonsai trees. There is a pleasant gift shop that sells Japanese incense, art and novelties. The only drawback is that the museum is located on the property of the owner, and you cannot walk across the bridge over the pond area that houses a lovely Japanese home and garden.

The sitting is serene. The grounds are elegant with a small Zen rock garden and bonsai garden adjacent to the exhibit building door that is flanked by two guardians. After exchanging shoes for slippers one enters a fore room then the main exhibit room. With a rotation of Mr. Clark's collection or loaned art work one sees the best in Edo period screens or scrolls or kimono. With luck the extensive collection of bamboo baskets might be on display. Look for a piece or two of Fukami ceramic. A delightful place to visit.

If you have any interest at all in japanese art or history, you NEED TO PUT THIS ON YOUR TO DO LIST!. This is a hidden GEM located in the midst of the Central California agricultural farmland. The Clark Center is amazing, and the pieces that are part of this collection rival those found in the most famous museums in the world. Do yourself a favor, and plan a trip to the Clark Center and be ready to be amazed and the quality and significance of this Center.