Prawat Laucharoen has been a busy man lately.
The lithe visiting artist from New York has been doing double duty since he’s been in Honolulu. At the newly named Honolulu Museum of Art School (formerly the Academy Art Center), Laucharoen finds his work is part of an exhibit on the mezzanine floor called "temporary residency 3" (the first two were in Manhattan), featuring artists from Hawaii, Thailand, Ireland and Australia. All the work was conceptualized and made here.
But you won’t find Laucharoen’s piece up there. Instead, it’s in the lobby, where his "Made in Honolulu" has a dual purpose, both as a work for "temporary residency 3" and his contribution as a juror for this year’s Honolulu Printmakers 84th Annual Exhibition. (Both exhibits will run through March 16.)
Laucharoen’s piece runs the height of the lobby, between the gallery’s two pairs of doors. Different-color rubbings of kukui tree leaves are printed on tissue and opaque sheets of paper. They are framed on one side by a pillar of poplar wood filled with intricate sketching and patches of gold leaf.
"I wanted to depict the spirit of the Hawaiian people," he said, "and how humans behave and connect to the environment." The arrangement of the leaves should leave the impression of them floating upward, he said. "When I do a piece, music inspires me, and for ‘Made in Honolulu,’ I was hearing Fauré’s ‘Requiem.’"
| HONOLULU PRINTMAKERS 84TH ANNUAL EXHIBITION AND ‘TEMPORARY RESIDENCY 3’
>> Where: Honolulu Museum of Art School (formerly Academy Art Center), 1111 Victoria St.
>> When: Through March 16, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays; also, until 7 p.m. Tuesday
>> Cost: Free
>> Info: 536-5507 or visit www.honoluluprintmakers.com
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Laucharoen’s piece is indicative of how he has rethought the usual way of displaying works of print. "It can be put up as an installation and break out of the frame and tradition. With my installation, I had to show some flexibility and make the best use possible of the space I was given to display my work."
The exhibit has other unorthodox displays as well. There’s the whimsical "Many Moods of Maurice," a four-panel etching set to pivot like a pinwheel. Its creator, Mark Hastert, is the Printmakers’ vice president and also chairman of the show. Another unique piece is Sergio Garzon’s large woodblock on interlining, "Seven Views of Kepaniwai," which garnered an Award for Excellence in Relief in Honor of John Chin Young.
Another award winner is the 3-D "Steel Plated Paradise," by the renowned printmaker Allyn Bromley.
Laucharoen selected more than 130 pieces from more than 95 artists. About 270 works were submitted.
Laura Smith, Printmakers’ executive director, said her organization tries to find new artists to submit works for annual show. Though most come from the University of Hawaii, there are a number of printmakers from the neighbor islands as well.
As for the exhibit, "this is a very energetic show," said Smith. "Prawat chose some very interesting pieces."
"What I like about this community in Honolulu and Hawaii in general is that it has heart," Laucharoen said.
"Even though the overall feel is somewhat abstract, it was important that each work spoke to me, with some message content and a degree of skill. And with many of the pieces in frames, it wasn’t like I rejected tradition outright."
