SAN DIEGO, CA.- Mingei International Museum will present a lecture, SHIBUI — The Essence of Elegance, at 4:30 on Saturday, May 2 at the Museum in Balboa Park. The speaker is Hollis Goodall, curator of Japanese art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Reservations are $5 for members and students and $10 for non-members. For information or to reserve, call 619-239-0003, ext. 405.

In Japanese aesthetics, between the gorgeous and the dull lies a territory of perfect, restrained elegance called shibumi (adverb: shibui). Hollis Goodall, will consider the concept of shibumi, its history and its precursors, wabi sabi and yugen. The lecture is presented in conjunction with the Museum’s current exhibition SHIBUI — The Subtle Beauty of Japanese Craft.

Goodall received her bachelor’s degree with honors from the University of Texas and a master’s degree in East Asian art from the University of Kansas. Engaged at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art since 1981, with a two-year hiatus as research fellow at the University of Kyoto (1986-1988), she has overseen more than 250 installations of permanent collections and special exhibitions during her career. She has also juried an exhibition for the College Women’s Association of Japan, contributed a chapter to a catalog for the National Gallery of Art exhibition entitled, “Edo: Art in Japan, 1615-1868” and completed work on the catalog, The Raymond and Frances Bushell Collection of Netsuke: A Legacy at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. In 2006 she wrote “The Fashion for Sagemono in Edo Japan” for The Virginia Atchley Collection of Japanese Miniature Arts, and in 2008 she contributed an essay to Kimono as Art: The Landscapes of Itchiku Kubota for the San Diego Museum of Art.

Mingei International’s two museums – in San Diego and Escondido – feature Southern California’s largest collection of mingei – art of the people. The Museum store, The Collectors’ Gallery, features handmade gifts from around the world.

Located at 1439 El Prado in Balboa Park, Mingei International Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., and closed on Mondays and national holidays. Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for seniors and $4 for students and active military with ID. For information, call 619-239-0003 or visit www.mingei.org.

Financial support is provided by the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture. Mingei International Museum is funded in part by the County of San Diego Community Enhancement Program.