Carol Isaak, SEASONS: Lan Su Gardens

Oct. 3 – Nov. 3, 2025

Opening Reception:
Friday, Oct. 3 from 5-6 pm, during the Eugene First Friday Artwalk

Artist’s Talk:
Sunday, Oct. 19, 2:30 pm at the Emerald Art Center, 500 Main St, Springfield, OR 97477 Tel: (541) 726-8595

Dot Dotson’s Gallery
1668 Willamette St.
Eugene, OR 97401
(541) 485-1771
Mon-Fri: 10 am – 5:30 pm
Sat: 10 am – 2 pm
dotdotsons.com

Free and open to the public

SEASONS
LAN SU GARDENS

Lan Su Garden in downtown Portland, Oregon, is one of the most stunning and authentic Chinese scholar gardens in North America. Photographer Carol Isaak found refuge there during the pandemic and fell in love with its archways, plants, bridges, and the way modulated light would puncture its exterior walls. Isaak photographed the garden in all four seasons for this collection in an attempt to express the serenity she felt while in the garden.

Chinese scholar gardens are meant to express calm and provoke contemplation. The layers and shadows in Isaak’s work do both these things. The garden is a collaboration between sister cities Portland and Suzhou, China. Lan Su is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2025.

In Carol Isaak’s words: “I call myself an opportunistic photographer—an adventurer at heart. When COVID curtailed travel, the freedom to photograph regularly in Portland’s Lan Su Chinese Garden became a vital outlet, easing my longing to explore. Lan Su reconnected me with my deep love for Chinese culture. Entering the garden beneath the poetic inscription, “The Garden of Awakening Orchids,” I was transported—viscerally and visually—to Suzhou, China. Suzhou, Portland’s sister city and the inspiration for Lan Su, is a place I had the privilege of visiting twice. It’s an astonishing city, rich with artistry and tradition.

As I began to explore the Garden’s mysteries, the seasons shifted—and so did my vision. Over three years, I collaborated with the space, allowing my eye to follow its changing light and subtle rhythms. In time, it became my home away from home. Floating between the magical and the material, I photographed without a plan—simply responding to the Garden. I’m delighted to bring my work back to the source of the Lan Su Garden.”

Carol Isaak’s art education was at The Cooper Union (BA) in NYC where she lived for a significant time. She has been a Portland Art Museum docent/educator for twenty years, specializing in photography, Asian and contemporary art. Her affinity towards Asian subject matter has led to extensive work that has been showcased in five separate Chinese cultural festivals. Her Chinese portfolio has also been exhibited widely in the Pacific Northwest. as well as numerous exhibits in the United States. Her work is exhibited widely and collected by museums, universities and private collectors.

www.carolisaakphoto.com