Artists of Hawai‘i 2015

Museum of Art’s Competitive Summer Exhibit

What to expect when a showcase of top Island artists opens in July.

January 2, 2015

Lesa Griffith

Editor’s Note: Through our partnership with the Honolulu Museum of Art, HONOLULU Magazine publishes a monthly blog written by Lesa Griffith, the museum’s communications director and a talented Hawaii writer on arts, culture and food.

While the holidays were consuming the rest of us, the artists selected for the next Artists of Hawai‘i exhibition have been creating wide-ranging bodies of work, from street photography taken with a digital camera to conceptual art involving water and light.

To start the new year right, we offer this peek behind the scenes of the summer exhibition, which showcases the quality and diversity of art being made in Hawai‘i.

Artists of Hawai‘i, which debuted in 1950 as an annual open-call juried exhibition, has evolved and is now held every two years, but it remains the premier open-call show in the Islands. And the competition is stiffer—where in the past one or two pieces were selected from more than 60 artists just before the exhibition opened, now a handful of artists are chosen nine months in advance and they are tasked with creating something just for Artists of Hawai‘i.

In September, 249 hopeful applicants were winnowed down to seven artists and one art collective for the 61st Artists of Hawai‘i, by Honolulu Museum of Art director Stephan Jost, deputy director Allison Wong, and curator of contemporary art James Jensen. On Dec. 16, the three met with the artists, and the artists got to meet each other, in Jost’s office.

Jost talked about the upcoming exhibition, offered words of guidance, and had the artists do presentations of their work. For Jost, the artists coming together to meet each other and see each other’s work was critical to the process.

“We hope your work will influence each other,” said Jost. “I can’t name a single important artist who didn’t know other important artists”—even the notoriously unpleasant Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh had each other (for a time).

As the artists showed projected images of past and current work, they peppered each other with questions about concepts, techniques, and processes. The sharing has begun! 

From left: artist Emily McIlroy, assistant curator of contemporary art Katherine Love, James Jensen, arts of Hawai'i assistant curator Healoha Johnston

On a visit to Emily McIlroy's studio, curator of contemporary art James Jensen discusses with Emily (that's her on the far left) how they might arrange her work in the space. The 7x13ft painting on the floor features hummingbirds as its subjects. Like in real life, at first glance they look gentle and beautiful, but when looked at closely a darker side is revealed.