Thursday, February 19, 2026 at 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM
LACMA, Los Angeles
Hear from the Japan Foundation's Michael VanHartingsveldt and LACMA curator Stephen Little, who will lead a tour of the exhibition [*Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art Across Asia*](https://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/realms-dharma-buddhist-art-across-asia) and discuss tools and techniques used to create captivating Buddhist sculpture and ink paintings. From remnant chisel marks to varied joining and finishing techniques, you'll learn about the materials and processes used across centuries to create these captivating objects. **Michael VanHartingsveldt**,** **a PhD candidate in Art History at the University of Kansas**, **is currently writing his dissertation about the Buddhist sculptor profession in medieval Japan. He has curated exhibitions, taught university courses, and presented public lectures about Japanese visual culture in California, Kansas, and Japan, and is now working as an Arts and Culture Program Officer at the Japan Foundation, Los Angeles. **Stephen Little**, an authority on Asian art, received his BA from Cornell University, MA from UCLA, and PhD from Yale University. His research interests include Buddhist and Taoist art, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese painting, Chinese ceramics, and the classical arts of Southeast Asia. His publications include *Taoism and the Arts of China* (2000), *Beyond Line: The Art of Korean Writing* (2019), and *Where the Truth Lies: The Art of Qiu Ying* (2020).