In “Strata: Layers of Earth and Time” at the ARTS at Marks Garage, Tanja Browne, Allana Coffee and Kim Kinard have brought together colorful mosaics and layered abstract collages in a show that highlights not only their passion for earth-based art but their close friendship as mothers and neighbors.
“It was a fun thing to put together as friends,” said Coffee, who is exhibiting her mosaics for the first time. “We show each other our work all the time and we figured, we should do a show together.”
ON EXHIBIT
“Strata: Layers of Earth and Time” A show featuring mosaic and abstract mixed media work by Allana Coffee, Tanja Browne and Kim Kinard.
>> Where: The ARTS at Marks Garage, 1159 Nuuanu Ave.
>> When: Through Friday. Closed today and Monday; on view Tuesday-Saturday noon to 5 p.m. There will be a closing event on Friday, from 7:30 p.m. with a fashion show, featuring local designers in honor of a new Hawaii fashion trade journal called KAPA.
>> Admission: Free
>> Information: 808-778-6392, www.artsatmarks.com
A family therapist, Coffee’s artwork includes whimsical mosaic portraits of women. “I draw a picture of the women first — they are characters who just show up in my mind.” Her “Flora, Sister of Fauna,” she said, is a pretty island girl with a playful, sly personality, born out of broken glass pieces and an assortment of colorful tiles.
During sessions with her patients, Coffee said, she sometimes uses mosaic as an interactive activity. “These broken pieces become a whole, reconstructed work. It’s a great metaphor for my patients.”
In pieces in the show titled “Thea’s Shoes” and “Ella’s Slipper,” Coffee recycles shoes into mosaics, decorating them with materials such as glass crystals, tiles and beads. “The shoes are for sale, and I always share a portion of the proceeds with a local charity with the mission of strengthening women, girls and youth.”
Kinard, who works in a studio in Kaimuki and had an exhibit at the Arts at Marks Garage about 10 years ago, is the most experienced artist in the show. She practices a “slow art” technique with her abstract, mixed media collages that includes abandoning them to nature for a time.
“My process begins with a photograph or an illustration that often disappears by the end,” Kinard said. “The work grows and expands, layers are built, woven and desecrated, formulas are tested, materials are pushed to their limits and then it’s buried in the earth or rested in the forest.”
Some pieces are left in the ground continuously until they’re disinterred, while others are brought back to the studio and reburied a few more times. “It’s bittersweet to get this work out, because I never planned on anyone seeing it,” Kinard said.
“Wind” was eight years in the making: Its layers include a resin photograph of a person with a trophy, a screen print of a syringe filled with birds, fabric and a monstera stenciled with acrylic. “The (111),” which uses alpaca wool, thread, nails, resin and paint as well as used photographs, was put in and out of the forest for three months.
Asked about her inspiration, Kinard said she prefers that viewers come up with their own interpretations, which “often make more sense and bring more clarity.”
Browne, a full-time mom and self-taught artist, is putting her work on display for the first time. She is drawn to mosaics that use space to create meaning, such as her meditative medallions that spin in the room.
Her “Peace for Paris” medallion was inspired by the Paris terrorist attacks on Nov. 13, 2015. “I was listening to the radio when the attacks were happening, and it really influenced the colors that I used,” Browne said, explaining that the gray background represents the tragedy of the event and the peace sign made out of glass and abalone shells reflects a shimmer of hope. The other side of the medallion displays the hamsa motif used for protection in Middle Eastern cultures.
“I wanted to show that if we want peace, you need two sides to come together,” said Browne, who hand draws her designs on a board and applies materials such as glass gems, mirror pieces, recycled and stained glass, wood scraps and ceramic.
For the three artists, their work has served as an important creative outlet during the stress of day-to-day life with kids, family and work. While each woman has different styles, the exhibit is tied together by layers of earth, whether that means actually burying art in the ground or using earth-based materials such as wood and ceramics. The result is a strange, beautiful and meditative collection, united by common thematic threads.
