Jun Kaneko: Silence Before Sound
December 18, 2025 – August 23, 2026
The exhibition Jun Kaneko: Silence Before Sound celebrates the Tampa Museum of Art’s recent acquisition of Jun Kaneko’s (Japanese-American, b. 1942) monumental sculpture Untitled (Dango). Jun Kaneko: Silence Before Sound represents the first major exhibition of Kaneko’s oeuvre in Florida and will present an overview of the artist’s prolific career—from the early sculptures he made as a member of the influential California Clay Movement in the 1960s to the groundbreaking projects that blurred the boundaries of painting, ceramics, and sculpture. The title Jun Kaneko: Silence Before Sound, serves as a metaphor for the artist’s creative process and the Japanese concept of Ma, an idea defined as a pause in time. Each application of glaze and paint is carefully considered with the appropriate space between the mark or gesture. This negative space, or silence, is equally important to the overall balance, harmony, and pattern in Kaneko’s artworks. TMA’s new acquisition of Kaneko’s Dango will anchor the exhibition.