Honolulu New Painting Invitational
August 27 – October 22, 2023
The Art Gallery, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa
Exhibition Opening Reception: 2:00 – 4:00 PM, Sunday, August 27, 2023
Location: Art Building, UH Mānoa
This sprawling survey of painters in our 4,200 square foot main art gallery is an unprecedented exhibition embodying the diversity and energy of contemporary painting in Honolulu today. The show affirms our commitment to living art and the ever-changing and resilient metropolitan Honolulu art community. We can see themes of ecological crisis, sublime natural beauty, urban blight, colonial history, stymied supply chains, and the cultural complexities and contradictions that characterize contemporary Honolulu. Says Debra Drexler, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Painting Professor and Acting Gallery Director, “The work does not come to easy closure, but is guided by experimentation and risk.” John Koga, one of Hawai'i's most established contemporary artists, writes, “Having had the pleasure of being immersed in Honolulu’s culinary, music, fashion, dance, and visual arts community, I have met passionate creatives in their respective fields. This painting exhibition showcases some of Hawaiʻi’s best artists and mentors to our next generation.” The vitality of new art is a constant and powerful force in cities, redefining urban spaces while in turn changing with time. In this show we celebrate painting today in Honolulu. Curated by John Koga, Debra Drexler and Maika Pollack.
Participating Artists
Jamie Allen, Herman Pi’ikea Clark, Peter Cole, Solomon Enos, Ka-Ning Fong, Kathleen C. Grennan, Jeff Gress, Kamea Hadar, Tommy Hite, Christina May Ho, Kathleen Jacobs, Matthew James, Eduardo Joaquin, Alina Kawai, Amber Khan, Sanit Khewhok, Kalani Largusa, Kenny Lui, Roland Longstreet, Katherine Love, Nanea Lum, Martin Machado, Laura Margulies, Emily McIlroy, Janetta Napp, Stephen Niles, Hadley Nunes, Kana Ogawa, Roxy & Matt Ortiz, Saumolia Puapuaga, Kamran Samimi, Travis Sasaki, Lawrence Seward, Kelly Sueda, Marc Thomas, Tiffany Torre, Tom Walker