Kenji Umeda

Allurement of a Journey

Notice: Due to renovations at Scottsdale Civic Center, Allurement of a Journey was relocated on Dec. 13, 2021, to the grounds of the Arabian Library on McDowell Mountain Ranch Road. Learn more.

Allurement of a Journey is a memorial to Lew Davis, an artist whose strength and endurance enlightened and inspired Arizonans for 40 years. The sculpture, made of pink Portuguese marble, is simple, direct, and elegant. It is a combination of skyward energy and earthbound balance. Davis was born in Jerome, Arizona, in 1910. This sculpture was commissioned by Patrons and Friends of Lew Davis as a lasting memorial to the one considered by many to be the “Dean of Arizona Artists.”

Sculptor Kenji Umeda (1948–2019) was born in Miyazaki, Japan. He studied art at Kettle’s Yard, University of Cambridge England, and the Accademia Di Belle Arte in Carrara, Italy. He lived in Phoenix while maintaining a studio in Carrara, Italy, near the stones he used in his work.