The Gardiner Museum is open seven days a week! Explore our permanent collection, discover special exhibitions, and get hands-on with clay in our studios. We look forward to welcoming you.
Discover recent work by African American artist Sharif Bey in our lobby. Bey foregrounds African and Afro-diasporic aesthetic traditions and considers the role of historical artifacts removed from their cultures of origin.
Don't wait to sign up for the Gardiner's popular summer camps. New this year, all our week-long sessions are full-day multimedia camps, so kids can draw, paint, sculpt, and more.
Every object in our permanent collection can be accessed through our eMuseum portal. Learn about individual collecting areas, like Italian Maiolica or Modern and Contemporary Ceramics, or search the full collection by keyword. You'll be amazed by what you discover!
Help us continue to offer innovative and engaging exhibitions, programs, and community projects in person and online, as well as plan for the future. Please consider making a donation today.
Lobby Display
Today, Japanese clay art is experiencing one of the richest and most diverse periods in its long history. Throughout 2018, three lobby displays, curated by Joan B. Mirviss, an authority on Japanese ceramics and a New York City gallery owner for 40 years, will feature the work of ground-breaking Japanese ceramists who stand on the world stage, boldly asserting their independence, creativity, and technical genius.
Surface effects, whether occurring naturally through wood-firing, textured by carving or impression, or decorated by the application of glazes or other techniques, are typically regarded as defining a work. Surface showcases how contemporary Japanese artists are using the ceramic form as a canvas upon which to explore colour, texture, and pattern. Intended to be seen up close in order to reveal their masterful physical attributes, the surface of these ceramic works reflect the heart of the clay aesthetic.
January 12 – April 22 Form + Function
June 7 – September 2 Surface
September 7 – January 13 Female Masters
Presented by
Supported by
Header image: Sakiyama Takayuki, Chōtō; Listening to the Waves, 2012, Stoneware with sand glaze, 10 3/8 x 9 1/2 x 5 5/8 in, On loan from Joan B Mirviss LTD