About the artwork
Michihiro Kosuge
Beacons of Creativity, 2016
Dimensions(h x w x d): 83" x 12"
Granite
Located in Lincoln Hall's Broadway Gallery lobby
Beacons of Creativity is composed of two granite pillars of different natural colors. The base stone represents the College of the Arts, and the next four represent the schools within the college—Art + Design, Architecture, Music, and Film + Theater. The top stones illustrate energy—a fire and blossoming bud, symbolizing the students of the College of the Arts. The sculpture’s scale provides a counterbalance within the Gallery environment, and creates a feeling of festivity and excitement that the arts bring to our lives.
About the artist
Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, Michihiro Kosuge first studied architecture at the Tokyo Sumida Technical School of Architecture, and went on to receive his MFA in sculpture from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1970. He began teaching art at Portland State University in 1978, becoming a full professor in 1989, and after serving three years as the Chair of the Art Department, retired in 2003. His first exhibition was in San Francisco in 1970, and he has exhibited continuously every since. Exhibitions of his work include the Oakland Art Museum, the Portland Art Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Art, and the Seattle Art Museum. Major public works include a 5-piece commission for the Portland TriMet Transit Mall and a comprehensive landscape and sculpture project for Highline Community College, Des Moines, WA.
See more of Michi's work on Russo Lee Gallery's website.
This work was commissioned through a generous gift from the estate of Denis Norstrom, 2015.
Banner image: Photo by Mary McVein.