While the Hui No'eau Visual Arts Center's solo exhibition invitation comes with prestige, acclaim and accomplishment, it also provides an avenue for the artists to have fun and for the viewers to do the same.
The annual show at the Upcountry center "allows artists to tell their own stories, providing an educational and accessible means for the public to investigate how and why they produced their body of work," according to a gallery release.
This year it will feature the work of Maui's Sidney Yee and Kevin Omuro, along with Oahu's Scott Groeniger. The exhibition opens with a Hui member reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday and continues through July 23.
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Excerpt from Sidney Yee’s “Conforming Turnips #1”
Yee and Omuro collaborated to present "I Turned to the Turnip," which explores the relationships between subject, technique, design and form in Yee's textured acrylic paintings on wood panels, complemented by Omuro's porcelain sculptures, saggar-fired in natural earth elements. Both artists are influenced by a minimalist Asian aesthetic and their roots in Chinese culture.
On another note, the turnip presented a chance to just have fun.
"Wouldn't it be fun to take a simple vegetable and turn it into something interesting?" asks Yee.
Omuro adds that he aims "to show people that you can turn nothing into something beautiful and find fulfillment too."
Groeniger will use digital media to examine China's rapid industrialization and transformed landscapes in "Welcome to the New Lifestyle," creating large-scale, site-specific archival pigment prints composed of layered photographs and digital collage.
Walk-throughs, lectures and workshops with the artists are scheduled during the duration of the exhibition. For details, visit www.huinoeau.com.
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Viewpoints Gallery in Makawao will kick off its annual Makawao Plein Air Festival starting Sunday and continuing through June 29. The event lets professional and amateur artists create work outdoors as they vie for various awards.
The gallery has secured venues for the artists to expand their creative opportunities, with many open to the public to watch art in the making. Two guest artists, Michael Clements and Ronaldo Macedo, will join scores of others as they capture scenes throughout the island. The schedule includes: Ulupalakua Ranch, Sunday; Maui Ocean Center, Monday; Maui Country Club, Tuesday; Plantation Course, Wednesday; Pi'iholo Ranch/Pi'iholo Zipline, Friday, June 24; Ali'i Lavender Farm, Saturday, June 25; O'o Farms, Monday, June 27.
The artwork will be judged by George Allan, Jolle C. and Joseph Fletcher and will be on display in the gallery from July 2 through 12. The public opening reception and awards ceremony will be held at 5 p.m. July 2 at The Courtyard off Baldwin Avenue. For details, call 572-5979 or visit www.viewpointsgallerymaui.com.
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Christina DeHoff, the featured artist at Images Fine Art Gallery, will appear at the Lahaina gallery from 5 to 10 p.m. Friday. The painter will unveil a new original titled "Golden," which will reveal "a model that everyone will recognize," according to a gallery release. DeHoff received her bachelor's degree in arts education from The University of Maine and owned and operated "The Gallery" in Rockland, Maine. She currently resides on Maui. Images is located on Front Street behind The Hard Rock Cafe. For details, www.imagesinc.com, 662-0884.
