Keiko Hara

Keiko Hara was born in 1942 in North Korea to Japanese parents. When war broke out, her father was captured, and her mother managed to bring Keiko and her sisters to Japan, where they faced significant hardship. In third grade, she was accepted into a gifted art program, marking the beginning of her artistic path. Despite her family’s disapproval, she graduated from a two-year art college and went on to teach art at the Kagoshima Handicapped School for five years. During this time, she exhibited her work in Tokyo, Kagoshima, and Oita.

At the age of 28, Hara immigrated to the United States alone to pursue her art. She earned a BFA, an MA, and later an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art. She was granted U.S. Permanent Residency in recognition of her accomplishments as an artist. Hara taught art at Whitman College for 21 years, serving as Chair of the Art Department while also raising her child as a single mother.

Now based in Walla Walla, Washington, she works across media including painting, printmaking, glass, and installation. Her work has been featured in over 50 solo exhibitions nationwide, as well as in group shows across the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Her pieces are included in the collections of the National Gallery of Art and other major institutions.