Jacqueline Benard and her husband, Kenji Umeda, moved to Phoenix in the mid-1970s. <\/p>\n
They met several years ago while studying sculpture in Carrara, Italy. The Valley became the home of their family and creative life until Umeda’s death in 2019.<\/p>\n
Benard always knew there was a chapter in Umeda’s life even before they met, particularly the time spent at Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge. Umeda arrived in England from Japan, still searching for his creative identity, and befriended a couple named Jim and Helen Ehde. <\/p>\n
They owned a group of cottages that invited artists, and Umeda lived there for a while, sketching, reading, and having long conversations with Jim. Eventually, he headed to Italy to learn how to carve stone and met Benard.<\/p>\n
Today, Kettle’s Yard continues to operate as a contemporary art museum. Then, in 2024, a curator there made an amazing discovery. It was a suitcase filled with Umeda’s belongings. <\/p>\n
The items are now on display at Kettle’s Yard, but before the curators could put together the exhibit, she sent Benard a letter telling him of her findings.<\/p>\n
whole conversation<\/h2>\n
Jacqueline Benard: <\/b>It contained his personal belongings, including clothes, books, a sketch pad with drawings, a pipe, a small pot, and a travel watch. And she wanted to know what I wanted to do with them once I found them.<\/p>\n
Sam Dingman: What went through your mind at that moment?<\/b><\/p>\n
Bernard: <\/b>I thought it was amazing to receive such a letter, but then I remembered that Kenji had left his trunk there and said he wanted to come back someday. But time passed and life happened and he never came back and that was it, you know?<\/p>\n
Dingman: Well, in my mind, this has some interesting implications. That means he forgot this trunk and knew there was something inside.<\/b><\/p>\n
Bernard: <\/b>yes.<\/p>\n
DINGMAN: But it seems like in his mind, retrieving these items wasn’t urgent enough to require like a special trip?<\/b><\/p>\n
Bernard: <\/b>Yes, it wasn’t an emergency. His urgent task was to become a sculptor.<\/p>\n
Dingman: So that was at the forefront of his mind?<\/b><\/p>\n
Bernard: <\/b>Yes, it was, yes.<\/p>\n harry soden<\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n kettle’s yard<\/p>\n<\/div> Dingman: What do they remind you of? Because personal correspondence, sketches, these are also very rich human artifacts. Have you seen the man you know, for example in correspondence or sketches?<\/b><\/p>\n Bernard: <\/b>Yes, I saw it. I looked at him. I had seen some of his early type work and recognized some of the shapes, some of which were like small paintings that he imagined were sculptures or something. It was a picture. <\/p>\n Those were Kenji’s early works, and I had never seen them since I met Kenji in 1974 and he had gone to England in 1971. But in those letters he mentioned that he had met an American friend, and that it was me.<\/p>\n Little did he and I know that we would eventually go west to Arizona and become a couple. And actually, we got married right before we came here.<\/p>\n Dingman: ]Well, one of the things that brought you guys to Valley in the first place. If I remember correctly, you sold the work.<\/b><\/p>\n Bernard: <\/b>Yes, have you read anything about it?<\/p>\n Dingman: Yes, I was. I did that. Please tell me the story.<\/b><\/p>\n Bernard: <\/b>So some of my relatives moved to Scottsdale, Arizona in 1976. I visited there and looked at the gallery here. So I brought the sculpture to be displayed in the gallery. It was Elaine Horwich Gallery, which was like May. <\/p>\n And they sold the sculptures during the summer, which is like the off-season for art. So we thought if we could sell in the summer, it might be a good opportunity to come to Arizona.<\/p>\n We took a big chance. We worked very hard for several years and had quite a few sculptures and it was a lot of sculpture boxes. I opened a wooden box in my aunt’s garage and met Riva Yares, who came to see the sculpture. She immediately fell in love with Kenji’s work. <\/p>\n So she said, I need to include your work in my gallery. That was the beginning. We came all the way west without knowing we would be staying there. I think it’s been about 45 years since I came here.<\/p>\n Dingman: Wow. oh.<\/b><\/p>\n Bernard: <\/b>yes.<\/p>\n Dingman: How has bringing your artistry here affected both of you?<\/b><\/p>\n Bernard: <\/b>It took some time to get used to the desert. It’s a beautiful place, but a little lonely. I think that will give you more room to think about it. It was very important to him to have a certain visual aesthetic and simplicity. He did not like excessive decoration or very bright colors. Of course he liked the color, but in a more controlled way, like a dot, more like an accent of sorts than screaming at you.<\/p>\n Jacqueline Benard<\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n handout<\/p>\n<\/div> Dingman: But that’s interesting. I mentioned earlier the idea of \u200b\u200bsparsity. The other thing that came up in the commentary that I saw for this luggage trunk was the idea of \u200b\u200bkind of doing one thing and doing it well. He had the idea of \u200b\u200bbuying a fancy trench coat, and he had the idea of \u200b\u200balways wearing that trench coat. Did that resonate with you as well?<\/b><\/p>\n Bernard: <\/b>Well, when we looked at the collection, they seemed like good clothes, as if he had chosen very specific things to look very nice and appropriate. He was a very decent person and knew that he had to look good so that people would respect him that way. <\/p>\n But I didn’t see those clothes when he came to Italy. We were wearing work clothes, so it was the better clothes he had left, white shoes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him wear white shoes. That was kind of interesting.<\/p>\n Dingman: Jacqueline, it really struck me that you were talking about this trunk as a kind of time capsule that recorded moments in his life before he established his identity as a sculptor.<\/b><\/p>\n Bernard: <\/b>yes.<\/p>\n Dingman: Do you feel a sense of ownership over this trunk and the items that were in it? Because I have to imagine it would be a strange experience if this was your husband.<\/b><\/p>\n Bernard: <\/b>yes.<\/p>\n Dingman: And these were his possessions, even if they were from a period of his life before he met you. And now they are on display, seemingly presenting him to a new audience. What is that like for you? That must be a very strange experience.<\/b><\/p>\n Bernard: <\/b>Yeah, it’s very emotional. I mean, I’m sorry for crying.<\/p>\n Dingman: <\/b>that’s ok.<\/p>\n Bernard:<\/b> That’s a part of him before I met him, you know? It’s a very emotional thing to get to know someone you’ve known for a long time but didn’t know before, right? I discovered something more about him, something I knew, but seeing those things made me feel it even more, you know? Yeah. sorry.<\/p>\n Dingman: No, it’s okay. it’s okay. Thank you for sharing that. I appreciate it I found it very emotionally powerful to relive these things.<\/b><\/p>\n Bernard: <\/b>Yes, especially since he passed away. And, you know, I think he would be very happy to see his work on display at Kettle’s Yard anyway.<\/p>\n Dingman: What happens to the items once the exhibition ends? Will they come back to you?<\/b><\/p>\n Bernard: <\/b>No, many of the items I wanted archived at Kettle’s Yard are because Kettle’s Yard has a repertoire of many artists and I think that’s where they’re best suited.<\/p>\n Dingman: You said he passed away. Did he die in 2019?<\/b><\/p>\n Bernard: <\/b>Yes, that’s right.<\/p>\n Dingman: God bless you.<\/b><\/p>\n Bernard: <\/b>thank you.<\/p>\n Dingman: Are there any items in your house right now that represent him to you? And for other people, those items are probably how they met him for the first time?<\/b><\/p>\n Bernard: <\/b>Well, I have a lot of his sculptures in my house. My little head, mentioned in Jim Ede’s letter, is bronze. I didn’t know there were two, but Jim Ede has one and I have one as well. In fact, I didn’t know there were two of them, which was an interesting discovery. We have a large garden with many trees that he planted. You know, they’re part of my life.<\/p>\n DINGMAN: Well, I’m talking to Jacqueline Benard. He’s a potter, a textile artist, and as I mentioned earlier, a stone sculptor. She is also the wife of artist Kenji Umeda, whose belongings were recently discovered in Kettle’s Yard. <\/b><\/p>\n Jacqueline, thank you for this conversation.<\/b><\/p>\n Bernard: <\/b>Oh, thank you very much. It’s great to be here.<\/p>\n Transcripts of KJZZ’s The Show are produced on deadline. This text has been edited for length and clarity and may not be in its final form. The authoritative record of KJZZ’s programming is an audio recording.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n![\"Kenji](\"https:\/\/picsura.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Sculptor-Kenji-Umeda-has-settled-in-Arizona-But-his-suitcase.jpg\"\/)
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