GalleryHNL’s Group Show
One of O‘ahu’s newest and most exciting art spaces.
Eli Baxter makes use of discarded materials she finds in the street, like these rubber tires, which she uses in her sculpture and installation work.
GalleryHNL’s latest exhibition juxtaposes mixed-media painting and figurative sculpture to better understand these two distinct modes of artistic communication. Curated by Mark and Carolyn Blackburn in partnership with Sanford Hasegawa and the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, the show features work by four artists living and working in the Honolulu area. “Our mission is to enliven Honolulu’s art market and to raise the profile of the department,” says Gaye Chan, chair of the UHM Department of Art and Art History and advisor to GalleryHNL. “All the artists are affiliated with the department either as studio instructors, students, or alumni. The November group show will be a showcase of the newest group of artists GalleryHNL selected for representation.”
Among the works at the gallery, Eli Baxter’s rubber sculptures are hard to miss. Composed of waste of consumer culture—recycled objects including inner tubes and cast-off valves—they make literal the idea of gluttony and the ways in which desire is manufactured. On the other hand, Kalani Largusa’s paintings explore contemporary Pacific Islander and Asian identity alongside Polynesian tattoo symbolism and methodology.
Shawn Spangler’s wheel-thrown porcelain creations are influenced by Asian history, including the Kingdom of Koryo and the Song dynasty.
Shawn Spangler’s wheel-thrown porcelain creations are influenced by Asian history, including the Kingdom of Koryo and the Song dynasty.
Shawn Spangler’s wheel-thrown porcelain creations are influenced by Asian history, including the Kingdom of Koryo and the Song dynasty.
A delicate inquiry into mixed emotions (d.i.m.e.), installation by Eli Baxter, 2008.
Though he has no tattoos, Kalani Largusa’s work explores Polynesian tattoo symbolism and methodology.
Optimistic Design Focus, 2013, oil and acrylic on canvas by Andrew Yamauchi.
Then there are University of Hawai‘i faculty member Shawn Spangler’s ceramic vessels, the combination of multiple parts he creates that are reminiscent of ceramics from Asian dynasties. “Shawn traveled extensively in Asia to study ceramics,” Chan says. “He brings together historical forms—forms that have been made for the millennia in Asia—and recombines them. For example, one artwork can reference several historical teapot forms at once through its handle, spout, base, and lid.” Spangler believes that pottery can guide us through stories of our past, remaining as cultural signifiers to help us locate where we once were and where we are going. Similarly, Andrew Yamauchi’s paintings explore Hawai‘i’s present terrain, depicting Honolulu’s iconic cityscapes and revered landmarks.
All four artists’ works will be on exhibit from November 2015 through January 2016. GalleryHNL is located in the Na Lama Kukui Building, 560 N. Nimitz Hwy. For more information, visit galleryhnl.com.
A BFA student at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Andrew Yamauchi’s paintings portray scenes from O‘ahu, where he is from.
GalleryHNL’s Group Show
One of O‘ahu’s newest and most exciting art spaces.
Eli Baxter makes use of discarded materials she finds in the street, like these rubber tires, which she uses in her sculpture and installation work.
GalleryHNL’s latest exhibition juxtaposes mixed-media painting and figurative sculpture to better understand these two distinct modes of artistic communication. Curated by Mark and Carolyn Blackburn in partnership with Sanford Hasegawa and the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, the show features work by four artists living and working in the Honolulu area. “Our mission is to enliven Honolulu’s art market and to raise the profile of the department,” says Gaye Chan, chair of the UHM Department of Art and Art History and advisor to GalleryHNL. “All the artists are affiliated with the department either as studio instructors, students, or alumni. The November group show will be a showcase of the newest group of artists GalleryHNL selected for representation.”
Among the works at the gallery, Eli Baxter’s rubber sculptures are hard to miss. Composed of waste of consumer culture—recycled objects including inner tubes and cast-off valves—they make literal the idea of gluttony and the ways in which desire is manufactured. On the other hand, Kalani Largusa’s paintings explore contemporary Pacific Islander and Asian identity alongside Polynesian tattoo symbolism and methodology.
Shawn Spangler’s wheel-thrown porcelain creations are influenced by Asian history, including the Kingdom of Koryo and the Song dynasty.
Shawn Spangler’s wheel-thrown porcelain creations are influenced by Asian history, including the Kingdom of Koryo and the Song dynasty.
Shawn Spangler’s wheel-thrown porcelain creations are influenced by Asian history, including the Kingdom of Koryo and the Song dynasty.
A delicate inquiry into mixed emotions (d.i.m.e.), installation by Eli Baxter, 2008.
Though he has no tattoos, Kalani Largusa’s work explores Polynesian tattoo symbolism and methodology.
Optimistic Design Focus, 2013, oil and acrylic on canvas by Andrew Yamauchi.
Then there are University of Hawai‘i faculty member Shawn Spangler’s ceramic vessels, the combination of multiple parts he creates that are reminiscent of ceramics from Asian dynasties. “Shawn traveled extensively in Asia to study ceramics,” Chan says. “He brings together historical forms—forms that have been made for the millennia in Asia—and recombines them. For example, one artwork can reference several historical teapot forms at once through its handle, spout, base, and lid.” Spangler believes that pottery can guide us through stories of our past, remaining as cultural signifiers to help us locate where we once were and where we are going. Similarly, Andrew Yamauchi’s paintings explore Hawai‘i’s present terrain, depicting Honolulu’s iconic cityscapes and revered landmarks.
All four artists’ works will be on exhibit from November 2015 through January 2016. GalleryHNL is located in the Na Lama Kukui Building, 560 N. Nimitz Hwy. For more information, visit galleryhnl.com.
A BFA student at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Andrew Yamauchi’s paintings portray scenes from O‘ahu, where he is from.
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