ART REVIEW
Members of The Artists' Group show what's new

By Victoria Gail-White
Advertiser Art Reviewer

Carl Fieber's "Ba-Shari," a raku, clay, wire and metal vase, is part of "Concepts VII." Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser 'Concepts VII' The Artists' Group 1-5 pm today, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday; ends Saturday Academy Arts Center at Linekona 262-5069 • • • 'New Watercolors: Paintings by Mark Norseth' 'Beadz Beads Beadz' 10 a.m.-5 p.m. today, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Friday; ends Friday The Gallery at Ward Centre 597-8034

"There is a loose voting process for selection of new members," says Cooper, "and this year there are three: Rochelle Lum, Lori Y. Uyehara and Linda Fong." Thirteen members are in the show; a few were unable to participate.

Group member Roy Venters did the installation. Draped muslin on the moveable walls and a muted yellow-painted back wall give the show a soft, palpable glow — which might be a bit like gilding the lily, because the work in the show shines golden on its own.

Venter's work consists of table constructions with found objects, a "Lace Installation" of acrylic on canvas and a "Heart Wall" of glass and found pieces haphazardly overlapped in a harmony of color. He is a master of assemblage.

Ann Beeson's series of photographs marks a painful personal loss. "Just Dead and Couldn't Get Her Hair Done" is an inkjet print of her mother. For anyone who has been present during the death of a loved one, the poignant power of this work will resonate loudly.

Cooper's "Barriers and Boundaries" series of watercolor and India ink paintings are cryptic and calligraphic. Almost 80 years old, she has moved from ceramics into painting without compromising the strength of her artistic vision. Her one raku ceramic vessel, "The Wave," is a potent sculptural form.

Compelling not only in the intricate wire patterns strung over raku/clay/wire and metal vessels but also in his powerful, earthy style, Carl Fieber's work suggests ritual. It is not surprising that the State Foundation for Culture and the Arts purchased his "Ba-Shari" as well as "Hidden Dragons" by night-scene painter Ka Ning Fong (president of The Artists' Group), and "Gray Hares," a whimsical clay work by Rochelle Lum.

Margo Mitchell's "Series: Remembrance of Pots Past" is a collection of five stoneware pots with iron oxide decoration focusing on birds, fish, wild palms, rain and the Phoenix.

The ribbons of paint that move through the atmospheric openings in Linda Fong's acrylic-on-canvas paintings are mystical. Radiant whirlpools of energetic colors appear to have suspended time indefinitely. They are like road maps to the unconscious.

Shirley Hasenyager's "Through the Window" series of five watercolor, colored pencil and Xerox-transfer paintings offer great views of the mountains and the sea through embossed white paper windows.

The acrylic and canvas works of Linda Hutchinson's islands and Alison Manaut's abstract color fields are satisfying intervals in a show which demands that we focus. The monotypes of Mary Mitsuda, "Water Jar" and "Waterbearer," add a cool, refreshing lightness in their simplicity.

Lori Y. Uyehara's work is surprising. Her mixed-media wood installations are becoming more complex. Ornately carved birds, wings, apples and leaves emerge out of "Forest Re-Constructed" andÊ"Chart the Crooked Course." Uyehara's growth and technical mastery never fail to amaze this reviewer; she does so many things so well.

Nestled beneath the Ko'olaus, the new gallery at Windward Community College is a much-needed, air-conditioned gem. And director Toni Martin has the experience, drive, energy and support to make it an impressive art showcase.

"Spirit Guide Series," the second exhibit to come in contact with the new walls, is a collection of 61 small, mixed-media original paintings and enlarged, over-painted inkjet prints of the originals by semi-retired University of Hawai'i art professor Ron Kowalke.

He chose two lapis-blue sidewalls and a violet partition to herald his archetypal images. To say that this series is electric is an understatement. It is alive with feminine and masculine energy, texture, strong layered color and the essence of something beyond the physical plane.

For three years Kowalke was absorbed in creating the 320 original images in this series that served as a therapeutic deliverance through his a period of depression. Balancing his medication and his productivity, Kowalke brought these spirit guides to life, often feeling that they were channeled into manifestation.

"I went through all the trials, tribulations and victories of starting something new," Kowalke said. "Eventually, it was like automatic painting, and these pieces just appeared. I was a conduit and suddenly felt much closer to the spirit world."

Kowalke's personal pilgrimage reveals abstract images of shamans, Buddhas, angels, saints and a population of spirit guides vibrating in totemic combinations of earth-toned, gemstone, rock, plant, metallic and neon colors from pastels, colored pencils, watercolor and acrylic paints.

In his artist statement he quotes a 6th century Turkish monk: "The world is one — for the spiritual world in its totality is manifested in the totality of the perceptible world, mystically expressed in symbolic pictures for those who have eyes to see."

Barbara Edelstein uses needlework to combine beads and a variety of found objects into necklaces. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser 'Spirit Guide Series' Ron Kowalke, recent works 1-5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; ends Friday Gallery 'Iolani, Windward Community College 235-1140

And in an unrelenting spirit of collaboration, eight island bead artists have once again whipped up a jewelry frenzy at the Gallery at Ward Centre. This year, they have included large, single, glass and clay beads which are for sale.

Alethia Donathan is now etching her lampwork glass beads (which are made with a torch rather than blown.) Alicia Kawano Oh's raku clay beads resemble polished woods. Ann Teruya, Joel Park and Charlene Tashima have worked their lampwork and clay beads into elegant new necklace constructions.

Barbara Edelstein needle weaves necklaces with beads and wonderful found objects. Mary Kamiya delicately adds beaded sparkle to her pieces. And Patricia Greene's bracelets have vintage and collected artists' beads that are peyote-stitched. All of these one-of-a kind pieces are fashion statements. Forget clothes; focus on the beads.