ART REVIEW
Hawai'i Craftsmen show displays powerful, diverse works
By Victoria Gail-White
Advertiser Art Critic
"It is pointless to wonder if the work compares to work done on the Mainland," writes Gretchen Keyworth in her juror's statement for the 36th annual Hawai'i Craftsmen's exhibition. "Good, powerful, personal work that moves the viewer can happen anywhere." She visited O'ahu and the Neighbor Islands, selecting 105 works from 382 entries.
Viewing the work in the newly air-conditioned Linekona space is a pleasure. The exquisite installation of the exhibit by Diana Tusher makes good use of the new pedestals. Semicircular islands weave a maze-like pattern around the room, displaying a selection of predominantly three-dimensional work. Wood, clay and glass works impart a dark earthiness and a clear delineation of the shapes against the white partitions and pedestals.
Hawai'i Craftsmen 36th Annual State Juried Exhibition
The outstanding works in fiber give a pleasing, long vertical elegance to the many sculptural works. They are "Bearing Witness" (a gauzy white curtain, with snips of human hair sewn into pouches, by Phan Nguyen Barker), "Without A Stitch On" (a banana fiber cloth triptych by Carol Kouchi Yotsuda), "Sentinels A & B" (a diptych made of screen and painted fabric by Wendy Kim Messier), "He Punawai Kau I Ka Lewa: He Niu" colored handmade bamboo stamps printed on paper by Philip Markwart) and "Their Story I Don't Know Much About: I Miss You A-ma" (a dress constructed of used tea bags, sumi ink and glue, by Patricia Yu).
That juror Keyworth is an innovator and a ceramicist is evident in her selection of clay works. Sophisticated shapes, glazes and surface designs figure prominently in the show. She awarded two of the five Awards of Excellence to works made of clay: Etsuko Douglass' "Anticipate," a tall triangular vessel with rhythmical glaze markings suggestive of rain and Johannette Rowley's "Tilapia Tea," a capricious tea pot with tilapia fish skins stretched over the surface — complete with fins and scales.
The remaining awards were given to: Barry Ching for his large turned wood bowl "Void," which skillfully uses the tree's intricate open-holed knots and grains to transcend basic bowl design giving the piece a more sculptural than functional aspect; "Domestic Armour" by Madeline Soder, which incorporates a good sense of aromatherapy and humor in her cinnamon-stick vest evocative of old Japanese armor; and Yotsuda's three-paneled banana-fiber cloth "Without A Stitch On," which is filled with machine-stitched contour drawings. The numerous female nude poses outlined against the creamy coarse fiber are a rhapsody in black thread and illustrate her mastery with a sewing machine.
The works of invited artists Vicky Chock (ceramic), Marcia Morse (mixed media with handmade paper) and Frank Sheriff (bronze) show superlative examples of professionalism, beauty and wit.
The exhibit's woodworks are noteworthy, from the delicately-carved small spoons of Tom Hirai to the colossal, amphitheater-like table "Levitating Space and Matter" by Sam Hadar made of koa and wenge woods.
Richard Kupihea Romero's "Mokulanalana" is a cabinet filled with many intricately carved and constructed miniature seafaring vessels.
The advantage of seeing this show before it closes is that across the street the "Crossings 2003: Korea/Hawai'i" exhibit of contemporary expressions of traditional Korean crafts is also on display at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. These two shows articulate a dialogue with each other. They speak of the leakage of fine crafts into the fine art arena, the fusing of techniques and the differences and similarities between the crafts of Korea and Hawai'i.
Note: In the upstairs gallery at Linekona, "Chanoyu," a lovely exhibit of ceramic implements for tea, showcases the works of well-known potters Carl Fieber, Ed Higa, Ken Kang, Bob McWilliams and Yukio Ozaki.
