KAHULUI >> Within 10 minutes of the doors opening to unveil Art Maui 2017, the Schaefer International Gallery at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center was already filling up with viewers anxious to see what’s been percolating inside the island’s more fertile minds.

The answer: plenty. As a result, Maui’s artists have produced a thinking person’s exhibit with a wide range of abstracts to ponder, elegant sculptures, ceramics, glasswork, jewelry and more.

“Art Maui is a prestigious show because it represents the entire county,” said Rick Strini, standing next to his “Honu Celebration Bowl,” a shallow vessel of blown glass pieces that he broke up and fused together again. “And because it’s juried, you don’t always get in.”

Strini knows the painful side of Art Maui all too well. He didn’t have anything selected the previous two years and, even this time around, had to take home the installation he hoped would make the cut.

Some 516 works were submitted by 326 artists for this year’s 39th edition — a much higher number than usual. Of that, Kauai-based juror Sally French selected 116 pieces by 102 artists, making for a palette of crushed egos. Even French acknowledged in her juror’s statement that she was forced to leave out some particularly strong entries to create the exhibit she wanted.

While the show leans toward modern expression, artists were also deeply affected by national politics, current events at home and a yearning for the past. They explored an imaginative variety of media from fine alabaster, marble, gold and wood to cardboard and paper towel tubing.

Perhaps the most humorous entry is “Tweet,” by Kate Eifler. Upon first glance, it appears to be the traditional definition of a tweet: a tiny bird sitting on a wire inside the opening of a ceramic house. Take a closer look and you’ll find the bird’s head is topped by a yellow comb-over similar to that of the world’s most famous tweeter, President Donald Trump.

Christine Turnbull’s “We Believe” suggests the wearying political times. The centerpiece is a ceramic bust seemingly stitched together with remnants of the American flag, save for several gaping holes in the skull. “Migrant,” an oil on linen painting by Melissa Chimera, features sugar workers almost disappearing into the Maui earth and sky.