Art
Arts organizations plan exhibits, mark milestones in 2002

By Virginia Wageman
Advertiser Art Critic

LEFT: Mary Cassatt, "Jeune Fille au Corsage Rose Clair," is a highlight of the exhibition "Pen, Pencil and Brush" at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. Below Left: Peter Chang, "Bracelet," 1999. A work in acrylic, polyester and silver, it will be part of the Contemporary Museum's January exhibit. Below right: Derek Bencomo, "Still Dancing," 2001. Made of pink ivory wood, it will show at the Contemporary in May.

With the new state art museum scheduled to open this fall, the Honolulu Academy of Arts celebrating its 75th anniversary and many shows planned that focus on local artists, 2002 promises to be an exciting year for art in our remote corner of the globe.

David Farmer, executive director of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, says he is hopeful the new state museum will open in October, although the Legislature has not yet financed positions for administrative staff. Located in the historic No. 1 Capitol District Building (formerly the Hemmeter Building), the museum will have more than 12,000 square feet of gallery space. The state's substantial collection of art by Hawai'i artists, amassed over the past 40 years, will finally have a permanent home and be accessible to the public.

The Honolulu Academy of Arts has pulled out all the stops for its 75th birthday bash. Newly renovated galleries for Indian, Southeast Asian and Indonesian art will open in January, joining other recently updated galleries for Asian art. In April, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, which also is celebrating its 75th year, will hold an anniversary party.

A raft of important exhibitions are scheduled at the academy for 2002, including "TaishChic," focusing on the period 1912-1926 in Japan, when the Art Deco style dominated; "Finding Paradise," picking up where the landmark "Encounters with Paradise" (1992) left off; and "Corot to Picasso," with rarely exhibited masterpieces by the likes of Monet, Renoir, Degas, Gauguin and others.

The Contemporary Museum is organizing a retrospective of the works of Tadashi Sato, one of Hawai'i's most revered artists. Following its summer 2002 showing in Honolulu, the exhibition will travel to the Maui Arts and Cultural Center in the fall.

More events and exhibits are planned than can easily fit in one listing. So we'll start with highlights from the first six months and check back in the summer with an update.

Virginia Wageman can be reached at VWageman@aol.com.