Collecting brought tremendous joy

to John and Kimiko’s lives, but John was especially passionate about sharing their love and appreciation for contemporary art. He helped kickstart many of this friends’ art collections and believed that creating a collection of any kind was a wonderful way to connect with others and prompt meaningful conversations.

John strongly believed that one should approach art purely—for the sake of its beauty and intellectual appeal, and not for the sake of future investment returns. This belief allowed him and Kimiko to curate a collection that was not only personally significant, but highly esteemed for its cultural and artistic value. Their collection includes an extraordinarily comprehensive series of works by Jasper Johns, plus select pieces from other prominent, post-war artists including Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. Additionally, they acquired an extensive collection of ceramic works by Takashi Nakazato, a 13-generation artist whose family is known for their traditional Karatsu ceramics.

The nearly-complete oeuvre of Jasper Johns is the crown jewel of the Powers Art Center. Four of the five galleries showcase the permanent collection of his works on paper—more than 330 pieces in total. It is rare in the museum world to see such focus placed on the talents of a single artist, but it provides a framework that supports an understanding of Johns’ evolution and how he became one of the most influential and successful American artists of the twentieth century.  Jasper Johns’ work, which diverged from Abstract Expressionism and Dada, has influenced nearly every artistic movement from the 1950s through the present day, laying the foundation for Pop Art’s embrace of the commodity culture. He created autobiographical paintings, prints, drawings, and sculptures with a sense of irreverence. They display an obsession with symbolism, yet defy any fixed or universal interpretation.

The quality of John and Kimiko’s collection is a testament to the close personal friendships they developed with each of the artists they patronized. We hope to inspire the next generation of collectors to find what is meaningful to them, and we want the Powers Art Center to be a place where new friendships and connections flourish.