“Innovative Visual Expressions,” IVE for short, was created out of the desire to exhibit seasoned, professional artists who have lived and worked on the Big Island at some point in their careers.
Works by some of these artists will be featured in September at Wailoa Center in Hilo.
There will be a reception for the artists from 5-7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6. The event is free and open to the public. The “Innovative Visual Expressions” exhibit will be on display Sept. 6-26.
The proposal for this exhibit was created from one of the many brainstorming sessions between Codie King and Bob Douglas. More than a year later, Wailoa Center and exhibit sponsor, Hawaii Island Art Alliance, are welcoming a very diverse gathering of 35 artists. These artists are all notable for their visions and fine craftsmanship.
“It wasn’t hard curating this show because the selection of work presented to us as curators is at such a high level,” King says. “All media are impeccably represented with each artist’s vision made clear. I don’t recall an exhibit at Wailoa Center with as many contemporary spirits at play.”
“The concept behind IVE was to create an exhibit comprised of artists invited by their peers, curated by Codie King, director of the Wailoa Center, and myself,” Douglas explains. “The intent is to showcase to the public both seminal and new works from many of the finest innovative artists on the Big Island. We started by identifying a set of well-established Big Island artists spanning the fields of painting, printing, installation art, ceramics, cultural art, glass, photography, sculpture and assemblage.”
Members of a selected core team were asked to submit 10 names of other artists they deemed as important or up-and-coming. The individual lists were concatenated into a single list and sent out for a vote by the core team. The top vote-getting artists were invited to participate.
“We are very pleased that all, but one artist has accepted,” Douglas said.
The artists who will be exhibiting in the exhibit are: Amber Aguirre, Clayton Amemiya, Pam Barton, Henry Bianchini, Lynn Capell, Kevin Diminyatz, Gary Eoff, Stephen Freedman, Steve Garon, Jon Goebel, Joe Hampton, Andrzej Kramarz, Tai Lake, Byoung Yong Lee, Ethel Mann, Michael Marshall, Hiroki Morinoue, Setsuko Morinoue, Miho Morinoue, Michael and Misato Mortara, Philippe Francois Nault, Patrick O’Kiersey, Joe Ruesing, Franco Salmoiraghi, Georgia Sartoris, Patrick Sarsfield, Randy Shiroma, Erin Skelton, Randy Takaki, Mark Tanabe, Dominic Tidmarsh, Lonny Tomono, Kaori Ukaji, Denise Wallace and Brett Weston.
Wailoa Center is located at 200 Piopio St.
For more information, call 933-0416 or email wailoa@yahoo.com.
