'Crosscurrents' flows into town
Two master artists of the ceramic revolution will be featured in a new exhibit at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center's Schaefer International Gallery. "Crosscurrents" will display the works of Jun Kaneko and David Kuraoka beginning Sunday to April 30.
The exhibit will open with an Artists' Reception at 5 p.m. Saturday. There will also be a free public lecture and exhibit walk-through at 11 a.m. Sunday. Regular gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and before performances and during intermissions in the Castle Theater. Admission is free.
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“Shino”
by David Kurokawa
Kaneko was born in Nagoya, Japan in 1942. He studied painting with Satoshi Ogawa, working in his studio during the day and attending high school in the evening. He came to the United States in 1963 to continue those studies at Chouinard Institute of Art when his introduction to Fred Marer drew him to sculptural ceramics. Kaneko went on to master the art and has taught at some of the nation's leading art schools, including Scripps College, Rhode Island School of Design and Cranbrook Academy of Art.
Kaneko's artwork appears in numerous international solo and group exhibitions annually, and is included in more than 50 museum collections. He has realized over 30 public art commissions in the United States and Japan and has been honored with national, state and organization fellowships and an honorary doctorate from the Royal College of Art in London.
Originally from Kauai, Kuraoka currently maintains studios in Hawaii and San Francisco.
Kuraoka created an intensive hands-on ceramics program during his 38 years at San Francisco State University, where he became head of the Ceramics Department in 1982. In addition, he attracted attention for reinventing and perfecting primitive firing techniques including raku and pit fire. Named a Hawaii Living Treasure in 1987 at age 41, Kuraoka was the youngest person to
receive the honor.
For the second time in six years, Baldwin High School of Wailuku has won the Honolulu Festival's Maui Mikoshi Design Contest.
The cultural-based competition asked Maui high schools to submit a mikoshi design for the festival based on this year's theme, "Heart of the Pacific, Creating our Future." A mikoshi is a decorative float unique to specific prefectures in Japan that is carried by troops of celebrants during their festivals.
Led by Japanese language teacher Rory Sato, Baldwin beat out three other Maui high schools - Kamehameha, Lahainaluna, and St. Anthony - to win a trip to Oahu to participate in the 15th annual Honolulu Festival. The students will carry their winning mikoshi in the festival's Grand Parade through Waikiki on Sunday.
"Maui will be proudly represented at the Honolulu Festival by the students of Baldwin High School and the outstanding mikoshi they designed," said Tatsuo Watanabe, secretary of the Honolulu Festival Foundation. "We congratulate the students and their teacher Rory Sato for their dedication to perpetuating the Japanese culture."
Experience art in action as Maui artists create their newest works in progress from 2 to 5 p.m. this week at Napua Gallery, located at the Grand Wailea Resort and Spa.
On Monday, visit the gallery to watch Diana Lehr. Lehr works with brilliantly hued pastels and oils, using light and color as tools for expression. Her landscapes, seascapes, and floral paintings are atmospheric, bold and sensual with an exquisite layering of colors.
Ben Kikuyama will demonstrate his techniques on Tuesday. With power drill and pliers, found objects will be given a second life by being balanced together. His art involves chosen objects and their stories.
On Wednesday, Madeline and Peter Powell will be in the gallery with acrylic paints in hand. This creative duo combine their skills in creating technical photo-realistic paintings of candies, toys, and classic cars that are so detailed, they literally jump out of the canvas.
March 19 will feature abstract expressionist painter Tony Walholm. He works in oil and alkyd and weaves a spell of pure emotion in a sea of color and texture, the metallic colors changing with the shifting light of day.
An exhibition titled "Process and Collaboration" is on display at Hui No'eau Visual Arts Center in Makawao, featuring recent prints from HuiPress. On display will be a brand new woodcut by Judy Pfaff, four new Japanese Enso etchings by New Zealand artist Max Gimblett, work by Swoon, Nicola Lopez, and other highlights from the past four years.
