Windward show boasts exceptional works

By Victoria Gail-White
Advertiser Art Critic

•	Windward Artist Guild 43rd Annual Open Juried Exhibition Through June 27 11-5 p.m. daily Gallery 'Iolani, Windward Community College 45-720 Kea'ahala Road Kane'ohe

James Jensen, associate director and chief curator of The Contemporary Museum, juried the show and selected 115 two- and three-dimensional works for the show from 79 artists.

The results are exceptional, and Gallery 'Iolani, framed by the Ko'olau Mountains, is the perfect setting.Ê

A great range of artists' ages and experiences are evident in this show, which keeps it active and buoyant.

For her first time entering a juried exhibit, 15-year-old Heather Kramer was fortunate to get three topsy-turvy ceramic teapots accepted. And for the umpteen-hundredth time, the spirited senior artist Lucille Cooper's ceramic work maintains its powerfully dramatic presence with her black vessel "Ho'o mana'o 'ana o Kalapana," made in memory of the volcanic destruction of the Big Island's black-sand beach at Kalapana. This exhibit also features the creative talents of brother and sister Gordon and Lori Uyehara.

The awards given for two-dimensional work were: first place, Karen Lee; second place, Jodi Endicott; and third place, Kandi Everett.

"I totally flipped out," says Lee on winning with her oil-on-canvas "Start Cooking The Rice." "In my paintings, I do not want to simplify the complexity of a busy life but accept how everything presents itself all at once."

And as a wife, mother and respiratory therapist in a hospital intensive-care unit/emergency room, Lee is busy. Her work and her artwork are a good balance for keeping life in perspective, she says — that and her family and her faith. This is her first time entering the guild's juried show. In testimony to her perseverance (a great quality to have as an artist), this painting was rejected from four other juried art exhibits.

Endicott uses many materials in her mixed-media painting "Dog No. 2": gesso, threaded rebar, wax, oil and pencils. "I have begun to approach a painting the same way I would a sculpture," she says. "I layer it the same way in my mind — the armature, the underpainting, the mesh, and the finish." For her, it's a rich experience and a play. Is it a painting of a sculpture or a sculpture of a painting?Ê

Everett's "Broken Limb" is a haunting yet simple figurative monoprint reminiscent of vintage Japanese woodblock prints. It speaks a direct, honest, visual language with few frills.

The three-dimensional awards were: first place, Yoko Haar; second place, Lori Uyehara; and third place, Jean-Pierre Canlis.

"Sleep," by Haar, first appeared in March in the "Seed" exhibit at Lama Library, Kapi'olani Community College. However, it is wonderful to see the variety of black ceramic seed pods liberated from that glass library cabinet.

Uyehara's small, smooth sculpture, "Rainforest Study No. 1," is sharpened and warmed by the tones in her selection of woods.Ê

Canlis sculpts hand-blown glass pieces as if they were large pieces of blue-green taffy for his third-place winner, "Tahitian Turquoise." He also is exhibiting in the "Keepers of the Flame" show at The ARTS at Marks Garage.

Nine other monetary awards were given to Jeff Dunn (pastel), Keiko Hatano (sculpture), Cassandra Locke (woodblock print), Maile Yawata (monotype), Bridgette Adams (watercolor), Barbara Okamoto (mixed media), Marc Yoakum (pinhole photograph), Ron Kent/George Woollard (wood) and George Newton (mixed media).

Jennifer Jones' mixed-media painting "Manifest" was inspired by her husband's recent military deployment. "It is an emotional piece for me," she says, "and expressed what I felt at the time — blinded by all the puzzling information delivered by the media. My brain just overheated."

Jones, who recently conducted a chalk pastel workshop for the guild, studied art at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa with Ron Kowalke, who was a mentor for many artists juried into this exhibit. His hand-colored lithograph, "Spirit Guide With Cube," also is on display.

This exhibit is filled with bright accomplishments, and although there was a limit to the awards that were won, there is no limit on the talent here.

Surprises fill the walls in the wide range of media selected and the execution of ideas, although many pieces have been in other recent art exhibits. Nevertheless, the beauty of the Windward Artist Guild's exhibit is indebted to the installation expertise of David Behlke as well as the expert eye of Jensen, who culled the voices that create this remarkable visual chorus of expression.