Just because Hawai‘i Triennial 2022 is winding down, it doesn’t mean that Hawaii’s art community is taking a rest, too. There are a number of other interesting art exhibits out there, some of them already in progress and some opening soon.
One of the most intriguing is “No Stop Light: Molokai,” opening Friday at the Downtown Art Center, 1041 Nuuanu Ave. It is the the first art exhibition on Oahu exclusively featuring artists from Molokai. Twelve artists will be featured, selected as being the “most representative” of Molokai, said Kim Markham, who coordinated the exhibit.
“It’s not necessarily the oldest or the most famous,” she said. “We tried to choose from old people, from young people, from newcomers, to people born and raised on Molokai.”
In the process, she discovered a “hidden community” of artists on Molokai. “There are a lot of people who come to Molokai because they just can’t take the city or the suburbs, or urban environment at all, and they’re just hidden in the jungle doing their art.”
Among the artists in the exhibit are photographer PF Bentley, formerly of Time Magazine, and painter Anna Fuernsteiner, who created “Kanaloa,” which has become “the iconic image” of the Hawaiian god, Markham said, adding that “it has been copied and shown many times, but she never would sell it” despite many offers. It will be on sale at this event.
Other names of note include emerging artist Kala‘e Tangonan, niece of Hawaiian activist Walter Ritte; Patti Golebieski, a former fashion designer who creates jewelry made from shells collected on Molokai; and Markham herself, who won the Merit Award for ceramics at the Hawaii Craftsmen exhibit two years ago. She will contribute a large-scale sculpture of the Hawaiian god Lono.
Other exhibits worth a look:
>> The Arts at Marks Garage is also having an island-specific exhibit, “Iconic Oahu: Buildings, Beaches and Backroads,” which opens Thursday and runs through May 29. Curator MaryAnne Long solicited original work for this exhibit as a complement to the Molokai exhibit. The gallery is at 1159 Nuuanu Ave.
>> At Na Mea’s Nu‘uanu Arts & Letters Gallery, the exhibit “Kupu ka Niu Kupu ke Kanaka, When Coconuts Grow, Humanity Thrives,” features baskets and implements made from the coconut tree, along with videos telling the importance of coconuts to island culture, especially in a time of food shortage. Curated by Ngahiraka Mason and Manulani Aluli Meyer, the exhibit runs until May 29. Nu‘uanu Arts & Letters Gallery is at 1164 Nuuanu Ave.
>> At Park West Gallery in Waikiki, an expanded exhibit of Salvador Dali’s “Divine Comedy” series of woodblock prints runs through the end of May and possibly beyond. The gallery has had about 20 of them on permanent display, but this traveling exhibit contains all 100 of them. The works reveal Dali’s journey from the hedonistic lifestyle of his younger years to his later return to Catholicism, after he had renounced surrealism. Park West Gallery is at 226 Lewers St.
>> Next month, venture out to the Windward side for some nostalgia when the show “Keeping the Memories Alive” opens in Kaneohe. Joe Pimentel, an engraver who turned to painting in his 60s, created more than 100 works depicting familiar sites in old Honolulu. They’ll be on display June 4, 5, 11 and 12 (early visitation by appointment; contact Justin George at jmgeorge@alz.org or 808-518-6654) at Kahalu‘u Gallery & Gardens, 47-754 Lamaula St. Pimentel was a regular among the “paintings on the fence” artists. The event is a benefit for the Alzheimer’s Association of Hawaii.
Also of note is a new book, “Clark Little: The Art of Waves,” by the famed shorebreak photographer. At $40, it’s priced more affordably than his previous books. It’s available at the Greenroom Gallery, a gallery dedicated to surf art located in the Queen Kapiolani Hotel near the Honolulu Zoo, and other outlets.
