When picture framing originated, Marilyn Murdoch says, the purpose of the frame was to make the art stand erect, especially when it was painted on wooden panels. “The frames were crafted around altar pieces and the ornateness of the frames became as much a part of the art as the painting itself.”

Artists and curators began raving about the beauty of the detailed carvings and when precious metals could be used outside the church, exquisitely crafted frames became the rage with European aristocracy.

In more recent times, modern factory technology has blunted artistic creativity for several generations. In the last decade, however, art frames have swayed from the minimalist styles that baby boomers grew up with, in favor of value-added custom framing.

“People want the frame to make as much of a statement as the art, or to make the
piece really distinctive,” Murdoch says.

With more than 200 years of collective picture framing experience, the Katayama Framing team of 10 employees includes a gold and silver gilder, a Japanese and European carving expert, a colorist and frame restorer, and tapestry specialists. With their combined skills and know-how, the shop can create replicas of nearly any historical period.

The process is a sight to behold, particularly the ornamentation. Gold gilders still lay their own gold, a meticulous process that hasn’t been improved upon since gold was first beaten and applied to a gessoed surface in Middle Age Europe. As they lay out individual sheets of thin gold and burnish it to a fine patina, wood workers with crude appearing tools carve incredibly smooth and intricate scroll décor textile workers carefully line the art with the finest silk to protect it from the natural elements.

The attention to tiny details has enabled the shop to forge a reputation as one of the highest quality custom frame designers on the entire West Coast.

According to Jane Beebe, owner of PDX, an art gallery in NW Portland, Katayama Framing takes on demanding, high-end framing jobs that very few shops in the area can handle.

The new and lavish U.S. Courthouse and the Benson Hotel, both in downtown, are recent clients.

“They do excellent work on difficult projects,” she says. “For beautiful, custom-made, gold-leaf frames, no one can touch them.”

 

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