Three new exhibitions at HoMA First Hawaiian Center
A new slate of exhibitions at HoMA First Hawaiian Center opens this week with a continued focus on outstanding Hawai‘i-based artists. The first and second floor gallery spaces are installed with works by 14 artists, featuring paintings by Tom Walker, glass sculpture by Jonathan Swanz, and a group of mixed-media drawings themed around Downtown Honolulu.
Katherine Love, HoMA’s Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art, gave us a sense of what to expect. “Tom Walker’s paintings are bright and bold, and his process of working with computer generated images and precisely drawn shapes yields wonderfully complex and powerful images,” Love said. “Jonathan Swanz combines an interest in natural forms and patterns with a detailed knowledge of glass production to produce his graceful and luminous pieces. Continued on the second floor gallery is an eclectic group of drawings which tackle the subject of urban Honolulu with a mix of viewpoints, across a range of media.”
Tom Walker, Skypivot, 2020. Acrylic on wood.
Tom Walker, Skypivot, 2020. Acrylic on wood.
Tom Walker: Incipit
Honolulu-based artist Tom Walker’s recent paintings draw upon ancient Sumerian archetypes to describe the dichotomy between opposing forces of order and chaos. Titled after mythological figures, Walker’s works, created with the assistance of software imaging programs Photoshop and Stella 4D, result in intricate relationships between color, line, and shape that are intended to represent the metaphysical fourth dimension. Precise lines formed with tools such as drafting tape and straight edges are in the tradition of hard-edge abstraction and Optical Art. Complex overlapping geometric shapes contrast with visible drips and areas of semi-transparent texture achieved through the loose application of mediums and solvents. Additionally, natural elements appear within the mathematically organized compositions. Crystalline structures, references to astronomical bodies, and in the final painting of the series—a bird, function to ground the work in the physical world. Overall, Walker’s incorporation of ancient mythology, traditional painting processes, and digital technology blend past, present, and future in visually striking, multi-faceted works.
Jonathan Swanz, Emerger, 2017. Glass.
Jonathan Swanz: Parallel
Glass artist Jonathan Swanz exhibits two bodies of work which break from the conventional understanding of glass as a medium suited to decorative or utilitarian objects. With a studio practice grounded in the historic tradition of glass craft, Swanz explores a spectrum of themes including humanity’s connection to nature, relationships between process and form, and the interplay between physical and energetic states. Vibrantly colored pieces from the Tropical Abstract series, crafted using traditional Italian and Scandinavian glass techniques, are inspired by Hawaii’s unique environment, particularly its plant forms and marine life. The series Vibrant Matter includes sculptures that build upon Swanz’s interest in the raw, energetic, and expressive potential of molten glass. Fluidly organic shapes incorporate transparent and reflective surfaces and investigate corollaries between attributes of glass and human behavior including concepts such as attraction and repulsion, cause and effect, and fatigue under pressure.
Kim
Jinja Kim, Reflection on Downtown: Undulation, 2020. Colored pencil.
Downtown Drawings
Downtown Drawings features works by twelve Oahu-based artists. Invited to participate in November 2019, the artists respond to the current moment with works that reflect diverse experiences, impressions, and interpretations of downtown Honolulu. A number of artists use traditional drawing materials such as graphite, charcoal, and pastel, while others incorporate an array of mixed media. Subjects depicted include recognizable and familiar scenes of passersby, architecture, and vegetation within the metropolitan area. Figurative and abstract elements draw attention to the visual experience of the city, delve into themes such as the detritus of the urban environment, or comment on the historical importance of a particular area. Downtown Drawings invites the viewer to consider challenges of city life, both today and in the future, while reflecting on the everyday beauty that can be found throughout this distinctive landscape.
Participating artists: Cody Anderson, Allyn Bromley, Michelle Conley-Harada, Debra Drexler, Solomon Enos, Brady Evans, Ava Fedorov, Wendy Kawabata, Jinja Kim, Bronson Shimabukuro, George Woollard, Keith Yurdana