Dieter Runge's opening show "The 14 Stations of the Cross"

MFA alum Dieter Runge's solo exhibition "14 Stations of the Cross" at the Church of the Epiphany opens on Thursday, December 15th at 6PM. The reception will be accompanied by the music of Donald Matsumori, who will perform "Jesus comforts the women of Jerusalem" from Le Chemin de la Croix, op.99, pour orgue, by Marcel Dupre. The event will finish with the blessing of the stations by The Rev. David Jackson.

Church of the Epiphany
1041 Tenth Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96816

James Jack recent project in Japan

MA alum James Jack is currently participating in an art residency in Shodo Island, Japan. His project Sunset House is his most notable project to date. Stories and memories of local people will revitalize the walls and floors of Sunset House, to become a permanent installation in the region. To find out more visit http://jamesjack.org/blog/sunset-house/

Nicole Naone's new mural

BFA student Nicole Naone's new mural on Hotel Street, nestling snuggly between thirtyninehotel and NextDoor.

Lew Andrew's new book on Edward Weston and Jean Charlot

Announcing the publication of faculty member Lew Andrew's new book, Weston and Charlot: Art and Friendship.

Edward Weston (1886–1958) was one of the most celebrated photographers of the twentieth century. Jean Charlot (1898–1979), a classically trained French artist best known for his murals, woodcuts, and paintings celebrating Mexican culture, played a key role as a participant and chronicler of the Mexican Renaissance. This book, based on letters that Weston and Charlot exchanged from the early 1920s until Weston’s death in 1958, documents a friendship that says as much about art—about photography and fresco, practice, criticism, and history—as it does about the intersection of a number of fascinating characters, the ups and downs of the correspondents’ daily lives, the pursuit of their dreams and aspirations, and the support and encouragement they gave each other.

Lew Andrews crafts a multivalent narrative that reconfigures our understanding of Weston, Charlot, and their era, shedding new light on specific events and artwork. While giving us rare insight into the everyday life of these artists, this work also supplies an important chapter in the history of twentieth-century art and photography, seen close up and from the inside.

Weston Lambert

New glass sculptures by alum Weston Lambert at Oracle 113 Gallery (New York City, New York)

New Sculpture by Karen Lucas at Keone‘ula Elementary School

The Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts dedicated a bronze sculpture by alum Karen Lucas at Keone‘ula Elementary School in Ewa Beach, Oahu. The sculpture entitled, “KEONE‘ULA,” was created as part of the SFCA Artists in Residence Program.

Lucas was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1956. She attended the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Liberal Arts in 1980. Karen went on to pursue a Master of Arts degree in Art Therapy from the University of New Mexico, which she received in 1984, and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa in 1998. Hawai‘i has been her home since 1991.

Dustin Miyakawa published

Dustin Miyakawa is writer AND photographer of a 2-part article featuring the East West Ceramics Collaboration for Monthly Ceramic Art (Korea) http://www.cerazine.co.kr/

Yida Wang in "Across the Divide"

Associate Professor Yida Wang was selected to a group traveling exhibitions entitled "Across the Divide" at University of Wisconsin Whitewater and University of Texas at Austin.

Curator and critics Chris Miles brings together a diverse group of contemporary Chinese artist faculty who are currently working in academia across the United States, and their works are informed by cross-cultural explorations.

OFF hours art demonstration workshop makes the News!

Art demonstration workshop takes aim at APEC

Artists and activists met to explore the word "demonstration" at AlternaAPEC, a program organized by Jaimey Hamilton. The gathering was led by Mary Babcock and Gaye Chan, and joined by Andrea Charuk, Ryan Shultz and Rex Vlcek. Sign painting, stitching, crocheting and screenprinting were some of the activities that brought together members of the community wanting to question and challenge the upcoming APEC conference at the beginning of November. See coverage on Hawaii News.

Silent Lucidity solo exhibition by Jessica Orfe at Gallery on the Pali

Elements from dreams collected over a period of months underlays Orfe's exhibition Silent Lucidity. Narratives of unconscious apprehension suggest the absurdity and variation of individual conscious experience, interweaving dreams and real life.

Gallery on the Pali

First Unitarian Church of Honolulu, 2500 Pali Highway

Opening Reception: Saturday, October 22 · 6:00pm - 8:00pm

The show will run October 15 - November 3,

(Gallery hours weekdays 10am-6pm, weekends 2pm-6pm, Thursday evenings to 8pm)

To the Nines Exhibition at the TCM's Cafe Gallery

To the Nines is a small look at the work of the students from this summer's first internship course at The Contemporary Museum. The work covers a variety of media and topics, from Reid Tabata's bronze abstraction to the solitude of Aaron Nicholson's “Exhale.” The work of Sonia Castro and Ualani Davis both carry a sensitivity and strength with their own unique personal visions. Gideon Gerlt's sculpture seems caught in ether and decay as corrosion sets in. Yumiko Glover's pop-inspired take on Japanese subculture plays on boundaries between reality and fantasy. Heather Matsuura's small figures quietly ask to be discovered, playing in the surrounding space. Brandon Ng utilizes the intensity of his eye, eloquently capturing his subject matter through a lens. Mapping environments in 4 dimensions Rex Vlcek uses capsules of the mundane and often overlooked: dust.

Come visit The Contemporary Café Gallery and indulge in fine food and Fine Art!

For more information please contact Deborah Nehmad, curator, at inquiry@deborahnehamd.com.

To the Nines
September 20 – October 31, 2011
The Contemporary Café at Honolulu Academy of Arts/Spalding House
2411 Makiki Heights Drive
Café Hours: Tuesday to Saturday: 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, Sunday: 12:00 noon to 2:30 pm
Phone number: 536-1322

Betsy Curtis solo show opening " The Visitors" at Hawaii Pacific University

Betsy Curtis, MFA student is showing solo this coming Sunday, September 25 at Hawaii Pacific University Art Gallery in Kaneohe. The opening reception will be from 4:00pm - 6:00pm.

"The Visitors" is a project where Curtis photographed willing visitors to the Battleship Missouri Memorial, Waimea Bay Beach Park and the Honolulu Academy of Arts. While people are dressed in street clothes, their body poses reference the formal Victorian portraiture conventions.
Hawaii Pacific University Art Gallery
45-045 Kamehameha Hwy
Kaneohe, Hawaii 96744

Show runs September 25- November 11
Gallery Hours: Mon-Sat, 8am-5pm

Graphic Design Workshop wins prestigious international award

The UH Design Workshop has won the First Place Award for Environmental/Sustainability at the 2011 international AIGA (Re)Design Awards. The winning design project is an identity system for the UH Mānoa School of Architecture and uses recycled paper, carbon-neutral printing, and a single press sheet to reduce paper waste.

According to the AIGA website, “The AIGA (Re)Design Awards is an international design competition and premier awards event that recognizes the importance and excellence of sustainable and socially responsible work.”

The UH Mānoa Graphic Design Program initiated the UH Design Workshop in Spring of 2008. The special studio, run by advanced Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA) graphic design students with faculty supervision, is committed to providing high-quality graphic design work for non-profit organizations in Hawai‘i.

Earlier projects that the Design Workshop have undertaken include yearly planners for UH Health Services, an annual report for the State of Hawai‘i Environmental Council, and the visual identities of UH Mānoa’s School of Architecture and Hawai‘i Nature Center.

Although the studio is only three years old, all completed projects have won local or national recognition. They include awards from the American Institute of Graphic Arts (Hawai‘i Chapter), the American Advertising Federation (Hawai‘i Chapter), and HOW Magazine, a national publication showcasing outstanding work in graphic design.

In 2010, the project designed for the UH Mānoa School of Architecture was selected as one of 28 semi-finalists, from over 600 international applicants, for the Adobe Design Achievement Awards, and will be showcased in the Print Magazine Regional Design Annual in November 2011. The annual national competition/publication recognizes outstanding graphic design.

Kait Rhoads at UHM for Fall 2011

UH Manoa welcomes Kait Rhoads, visiting glass artist from Seattle. Check out her work at the Art Building sculpture window, her resume site, and a description of her practice on the Fine Art Associate site!

Rhoads presented her works to art students and faculty recently. Her connection to the water started very early in her life, scuba diving and living for six years in a boat. Since then, she has found in glass the expression that connects her with water.

ARTvocating for UH Art

ARTvocate is a new group comprised of students whose mission is to represent the department at outreach events and they are off to a great start! They just had their first official event at the Academic and Student Services Fair, where over 100 High School counselors came to the University's Fair. The ARTvocates prepared a slide show, a hand painted sign and gave information about our great department. They even made a few contacts for future projects. It couldn't have gone smoother!

A big thanks goes to Eva Enriquez, Brady Evans, Heather Matsuura and Ryan Shultz!

Wendy Kawabata

Wendy Kawabata, Associate Professor in Drawing and Painting, is spending her sabbatical making and showing her artwork across the globe. This summer she was an artist in residence at the Nes in Skagastrond Iceland. Some of the work produced at the residency will be shown in exhibitions in the US. A solo exhibition, Acts, at Haas Gallery of Art in Bloomsburg University Pennsylvania. And a group show Paper Exhibition at Las Manos Gallery in Chicago.

Maya Portner awarded an Artist in Residency in India

MFA alum Maya Portner has been awarded an Artist in Residency at CHHAPP - Foundation for Printmaking Trust, in Gujarat, India. Portner will be in residence from November and December 2011.

ART students performing in Berlin

4 students, Eva Enriquez, Sheri Lyles, Jessica Orfe & Rex Vlcek participated in IPAH Summercamp and Platform Young Performance Artists 2011 in Berlin. The workshops took place at one of the last remaining buildings on former East side of Berlin. The old military warehouse with high ceilings, graffiti walls and its surroundings offered a variety of spaces for the practice of performance.

All students performed as part of the workshop but Jessica Orfe and Rex Vlcek's works were chosen as featured performances. Orfe's "Phasis" was approached from the her background on dance to address a dream. Vlcek collaborated with two other artists, Tabea Hornlein & Beate Linne, in "Don't Ask/Don't Tell" a social intervention that invited to discussion on what is performance art.

Orvis Artist in Residence Robert Reed

Robert Reed's artist residency at Honolulu Academy just ended. Reed is the last of four graduate students who were awarded ORVIS AIR this academic year.

Reed maintained a diary of sorts on the HAA blog during his residency there, and will be presenting a performance at Linekona for the Thirst show on September 4.

UHart PARTNERS WITH FENDI followup

This is a followup to an earlier blog post regarding UHart's partnership with FENDI.

The events were a great success and covered thoroughly in an article by Nadine Kam. Alums artists Eli Baxter and Aaron Padilla both produced stunning displays that fit FENDI's theme of Fatto A Mano.

A huge thanks goes to Dean Christopher's (another former student) for his tireless work to bring it to fruition, and for dreaming up this idea in the first place, including that 20% of the private events sales goes to benefit our department.

Travis Seifman receives $4,000 scholarship

MA student Travis Seifman receives $4,000 scholarship from the Society of Asian Art of Hawai’i.

UHM Furniture Design Challenge at DWR

UH Furniture Design Challenge
Thursday, August 25, 6-8pm
DWR Honolulu Studio

Ala Moana Shopping Center - Top level next to Nordstrom

Support the future of design at DWR. Check out the innovative designs from the UHM art students in ART 358 with David Landry. A panel from the local design community will be judging the submissions during the event, and the winners will be announced at the end of the evening. Wine, refreshments, and pupu will be served. Admission is free.

RSVP by August 20 to clee@dwr.com

Gorey Exhibition Catalogue Now Available

Gorey Exhibition Catalogue Now Available at the Gallery and via the gallery website, under publications

Country Living for Everyone - Kirsten Simonsen

Country Living for Everyone
A charming new home with an aged, old world appearance...

A solo exhibition by Kirsten Rae Simonsen,
explores the fantasies embodied in Hawai‘i’s mock Tudor and French Norman cottage-style homes.

August 22-September 2, 2011 (open daily from 7 AM-9 PM)
Opening reception Monday August 22, 5:30-7:30 PM

at Academy Art Center at Linekona - 1111 Victoria Street

Artist talk August 18, 6-7 PM, 39 Hotel
(sponsored by [OFF] hrs & Jaimey Hamilton)

more about Country Living for Everyone:
The original idea behind the growth of suburbia in the UK and the United States was that it was meant to be "country living for everyone." Suburban homes initially were meant to recall the experience of the English country cottage: a lovely, calm retreat from the chaos of the city. In Hawai’i, during the 1920s, immigration from the West Coast of the United States increased drastically, and many new middle class homes were built in the Mock Tudor English cottage style that was popular on the mainland. These English Tudor (and sometimes French Norman) cottages spoke to an especially odd and incongruent fantasy: that of the American immigrant bringing "olde England" to Hawai’i. The fantasy was doubly strange, as the Tudor revival style was artificial and invented to begin with, even in the UK. This exhibition will explore that fantasy…how did these immigrants envision Hawai’i? What possessed them to build English and French Norman cottages here? How did they see their role in their new adopted home in the islands?

Emily McIlroy - MFA Thesis Exhibition

Between Two Waters, Emily McIlroy's MFA Thesis Exhibition, will be on display from August 29-September 9 at the Commons Gallery. A reception will be held in conjunction with the opening of the UH Manoa Faculty Exhibition on Sunday, September 4 from 3-5pm.

News on Marion Cadora

MA student Marion Cadora's project “Re-historicizing Contemporary Pacific Island Art” is featured in ARTstor's blog showcasing new interdisciplinary teaching ideas using ARTstor.

ARTstor offers more than 1 million images for your study and research, and has been growing fast by adding more collections and features. I plan to conduct a few ARTstor workshops in the beginning of semester, which will cover some new features they have added such as the search filtering system. Please stay informed, and encourage your colleagues and students to attend.

Intersections Presents: Emre Hüner - Save the Dates!

Intersections and Shangri La Presents: Emre Hüner
in residence from August 11-26, 2011.

Public Art Lecture:
UHM Art Building Auditorium
Wednesday, August 24th, 2011 @ 6 pm

Video Screening:

thirtyninehotel
Thursday, August 25th, 2011 @ 6 pm

Both events are FREE

Emre Hüner was born in Istanbul, Turkey in 1977. He is known for his drawing and animation installations of futuristic, fantastical, layered worlds. In his highly acclaimed video animation Panoptikon (2005), plants emerge as sensate beings that seem to take over the world. The imagery -- culled from the internet, books, photos, films and more -- comments on the relationship of our natural, technological, and political worlds. His aesthetic language expresses this relationship through the juxtaposition of man-made scientific objects and nature. He has exhibited at the Istanbul Biennial (2007); Manifesta 7 (2008); the New Museum’s Younger than Jesus (2009), Apex Art (2009), Stroom den Hague (2010).

More info

Bud Spindt - The Gallery at the Ward Center

An exhibition of Bud Spindi's new sculptural works in glass opens at the Gallery at Ward Centre on July 31st, from 2pm - 5pm. Exhibition runs until August 25, 2011.

1200 Ala Moana Boulevard
(808) 597-8034
Open Mon-Wed, Fri-Sat 10am-8pm; Thu 9am-5pm;

UHart PARTNERS WITH FENDI

UHart PARTNERS WITH FENDI

FENDI launchs Fatto a Mano, a design-focus platform in Hawai‘i, with UHart featuring MFA alumni Eli Baxter and Aaron Padilla .

Selected competitively among a pool of UHart alums and current MFA students, Baxter and Padilla will work intimately with FENDI’s Craftsmen from Rome on site at two FENDI Honolulu locations. Jointly they will build, cut, assemble, sew, and create contemporary design pieces that fuse each artistss concepts with FENDI’s style and materials.

Eli Baxter’s cerebral installations consisting of recycled bicycle tire rubber and FENDI Selleria leather explores scientific and philosophical concepts while focusing on raw materials and handcrafted details. Eli creates spatial experiences through her conical, floral and intricate ‘creature-like’ installations that cleverly mix her modern methods with Italian artisanship.

Aaron Padilla manipulates natural wood segments into elegant woven and knotted sculptures. By constructing and deconstructing these pieces, Aaron organically incorporates FENDI Selleria leather to create modern designs with mixed textures.

EVENT DATES/LOCATIONS:

Eli Baxter at FENDI Ala Moana – August 12, 12-6 + August 13, 12-8
Aaron Padilla at FENDI Royal Hawaiian – August 14, 12-6 + August 15, 12-8
In honor of Baxter and Padilla's alma mater, 20% of the private events sales will benefit our department.

Kirsten Simonsen in Drawing Expanse

Kirsten Simonsen in Drawing Expanse at Space for Art, San Diego
June 11-July 17, 2011

Curated by David White & Karen McGuire, the exhibition is an overview of the expansive potential of drawing in the contemporary art practice. Drawing continues to evolve as a medium, encompassing flat work, sculpture, performance, photography and video. From the most traditional, to the most experimental, all forms of drawing share the common language of mark making, gesture, notation, and line. Drawing Expanse will illuminate the myriad ways in which drawing continues to influence and affect us.

East-West Ceramics Collaboration V

East-West Ceramics Collaboration V
For the fifth time, the UHM Ceramics Program brings together international ceramics professionals for four-weeks at UH Mānoa's ceramics facility. Please join us for the following events:

Pacific Rim Artist Presentations

Thursday July 14, 2011; 7 pm
Richard Parker (New Zealand)
Vipoo Srivilasa (Thailand and Australia)
Sin-ying Ho (Hong Kong, USA)
Chang Ching-Yuan (Taiwan)

Tuesday July 19, 2011; 7 pm
NamSook Chang (Korea)
Ayumi Shigematsu (Japan)
Garth Johnson (USA)

Thursday July 21 2011; 7 pm
Ian Johnston (Canada)
Rosario Guillermo (Mexico)
Inchin Lee (Korea)

Tuesday July 26, 2011; 7 pm
Simone Fraser (Australia)
Zhang Jingjing (People's Republic of China)
Brad Taylor (USA)
Suzanne Wolfe (USA)

All artist presentations will be held at the UHM Center for Korean Studies auditorium. (Please note this change of venue from previous years. The auditorium at the Art Building is undergoing repairs.)

East-West Ceramics Open House
Saturday July 30, 2011
2:00 - 4:00 pm
Art Building Ceramics Courtyard
meet the artists and discuss the ceramic works in progress

All events are free and open to the public; parking fees may apply
for information - Suzanne Wolfe at 956-5264 or swolfe@hawaii.edu

Take, Leave, Whatevas...

Professor and Department Chair Gaye Chan's collaborative Eating in Public is featured in "Take, Leave... Whatevas" by Richard Morse, Honolulu Weekly (June 29, 2011)

Kandi Everett at Fishcake

Alum Kandi Everett has an upcoming solo at Fishcake at 307c Kamani Street

July 7 to August 20, 2011

reception thurs, july 7 from 6 to 8pm

Jacqueline Rush Lee

Jacqueline Rush Lee's work was prominently featured in Flux Hawaii's October 2010 issue. Check it out!

more Kumi Nakajima News

An interview of MFA student Kumi Nakajima speaking about her exhibition at thirtyninehotel will be aired by Hawaii Public Radio's program starting June 27 at The Conversation.

Kumi is also presenting an artist talk at Tokyo University for the Arts on June 28th, 2011 @ 7pm- 8pm (Tokyo timezone) - Center Hall (Chuo hall) 3F, meeting room.

Aaron Padilla Solo at Bethel Street Gallery

Aaron Padilla Solo at Bethel Street Gallery

June 23 to July 29, 2011

Liam Davis curates his first New York City exhibition

MFA alum Liam Davis co-curates "NEW YORK TEMPORARY: The City Through Photography, Film and Video" with HP Garcia at the New York Center of Photography and The moving Image

21 June - 12 August 2011

June / July Hours: Tuesday through Saturday 1 - 6 PM

August Hours: Tuesday through Friday 1 - 5 PM

Opening Reception: Wednesday, 22 June 2011 | 7 - 10 PM

From Modern grid-bound architecture to voyeuristic impressions of apartment dwellers to massive men and women girded in office attire to the subway underworld, the photographs of “New York Temporary” reveal an ever-changing panorama of New York life. From extremes of wealth and poverty to nuanced interactions between people and spaces, New York City reveals her most basic character beyond the skyline.

Curators Liam Davis and H.P. Garcia bring together a diverse group of artists who document and interpret the city and her many moods, impressions and expressions, to create a portrait that unfolds in glimpses. They speak of the city in our time from myriad angles and vantage points, reflecting intensity, callousness at times, and an unending propensity for transformation.

580 Eighth Avenue @ 38 Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10018 T 212.354.3825

Steve Coy interviewed in Bad at Sports

MFA alum Steve Coy is given extensive air time by Bad at Sports, a national blog on contemporary art about his collaborative Hygenic Dress League based in Detroit. Coy talks about HDL's growing street presence in Detroit's urban landscape and upcoming interventions.

Check it out.

Scott Groeniger - Hui No'eau

Scott Groeniger was selected by Hui No'eau for Solo Exhibition
June 18 – July 23, 2011

Hui No‘eau accepts applications annually for artists to exhibit a complete body of work in the Hui gallery. The Solo Exhibition is one of the only exhibitions in the state that provides the unique opportunity for artists to be personally involved in all facets of exhibition planning and installation of artwork. Maui artists Sidney Yee and Kevin Omuro present the “turnip” as a means to explore paint and clay with aesthetic awareness, while Honolulu-based artist Scott Groeniger explores transformed landscapes depicted by China’s rapid industrial revolution.

Television coverage of Groeniger's solo.

Hui No'eau Blog entry

Raku Ho'olaule'a report

Our Ceramics group just returned from Hawaii Craftsmen's annual Raku Ho'olaule'a, a gathering of local ceramic artists, which culminates in a juried exhibition featured at Mark's Garage. Seven UH artists were included in the exhibition, Daven Hee (UH group leader and UH alum), recent MFA graduate Adam Stratton and the two student leaders, Chad Steve and Dustin Miyakawa. Lauren Jo took top honors, winning the annual Award for Excellence. She will be leaving for graduate school at Alfred University this fall.

Dustin Miyakawa wrote, "It wasn't the easiest weekend, camping out and firing in a thunderstorm. Everyone's tents got flooded or blew over in the wind. Our last pieces came out at around 5AM on Sunday morning after firing straight through the night."

The exhibition will be on view at Mark's Garage from June 8 to 26, with an opening reception on Friday, June 10. The show will feature a community kiln on Slow Art Friday, the 17th of June, where UH students will join other Hawaii Craftsmen members to fire teabowls in a demonstration downtown.

photos by Dustin Miyakawa