Local craftsmen impress show juror
"Overhand, Repeat" by Aaron Padilla, winner of the George Ellis Award of Excellence.
J. M. Ideta's "Tea Clay" won the Reinternational Award for Ceramics at Hawaii Craftmen's 43rd Annual Statewide Juried Exhibition.
"Collaboration," by John Mydock and Gregg Smith, took the O'Neill Award of Excellence.
For Robert Soppelsa, distinctions between fine and craft art don’t exist. The juror of Hawaii Craftsmen’s 43rd Annual Statewide Juried Exhibition says all fine art has good craftsmanship and all fine crafts are good art.
"There’s no difference," he says. "My approach is based on quality. A painting is just as interesting and useful to me as a beautifully cast metal sculpture or a beautiful platter."
Soppelsa traveled from Washington, D.C., where he’s senior curator of the ART in Embassies program, to wear the juror’s hat. He was approached by Hawaii Craftsmen President Tiffany DeEtte Shafto , whom he met after purchasing one of her koa sculptures while he was vacationing here two years ago.
43RD ANNUAL STATEWIDE JURIED EXHIBITIONPresented by Hawaii Craftsmen On exhibit: Through Oct. 31, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays Where: Academy Art Center at Linekona, 1111 Victoria St. Call: 521-3282 or 532-8741, or visit www.hawaiicraftsmen.org
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"I got in touch with her because the piece was so interesting and really, really beautiful," he says. "After 15 years as a curator of craft art, I’ve seldom seen anything of such craftsmanship."
His appreciation of Shafto’s art mirrors his opinion of the works he assessed for the show.
"I was blown away by the quality of the art I saw," he raves.
Soppelsa selected 136 works in wood, ceramics, metal, fiber, mixed media, glass, feather and jewelry. There were about 250 submissions. Invited artists this year are May Izumi, Mark Mitsuda and Russell Wee.
"I always tell everyone judging is a matter of taste, but it’s also about quality, originality, how the medium is used and its overall expressive quality. These pieces sometimes just talk to you — and they say, ‘Put me in,’" he quips.
Soppelsa eagerly took Shafto’s offer — "Who doesn’t love visiting Hawaii?" — and visited five art centers on four islands to do his jurying. His work took him to Kona and Volcano on the Big Island, Maui and Kauai, as well as Honolulu.
It was a labor of love.
"I got to talk with lots of artists, and I got to know the state, not just the artists," Soppelsa says. "My wife and I really, really enjoyed ourselves. We experienced something that’s not always common on the East Coast: a generous and open hospitality. People were very welcoming wherever we went."
