Three Kaua‘i artists are included in the exhibition, “Precious Resources: The Land & The Sea,” currently on display at the Hawai‘i State Art Museum in Honolulu. Robert Hamada, John Davison, and the late Paul Yardley are featured along with 48
Three Kaua‘i artists are included in the exhibition, “Precious Resources: The Land & The Sea,” currently on display at the Hawai‘i State Art Museum in Honolulu. Robert Hamada, John Davison, and the late Paul Yardley are featured along with 48 other Hawai‘i artists in this exhibition of artworks inspired by Hawai‘i’s natural environment and resources.
The exhibit reflects the life-giving sustenance, natural beauty, and cultural traditions that the land and sea provide in Hawai‘i, and explores the delicate balance of Hawai‘i’s resources through the eyes of artists and scientists, providing a forum on environmental sustainability.
The works in the show include selections from the Art in Public Places collection of the Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts supported in part by the One Percent for Art Law enacted by the State of Hawai‘i in 1967.
Robert Hamada, renowned Kaua‘i woodturner known for his exquisitely crafted wooden vessels, is represented by two pieces, “The Shadow of Night,” of hau wood, and “Koa O Hawai‘i,” a koa turned bowl.
Paul Yardley, a long-time Kaua‘i painter who passed away in 2005, expressed his love of the island sea and landscape through oil paint on canvas. The exhibit features his painting “Kaua‘i Stream.”
John Davison’s painting, “The Blue Valley,” was inspired by a sketch made on a hike into the narrow valley at the base of Mt. Wai‘ale‘ale. Also known as “Blue Hole,” the valley’s steep cliffs are usually laced with waterfalls cascading from the cloud-hidden heights of Wai‘ale‘ale, one of the wettest places on earth. These waterfalls are the source of one of the two main tributaries that become the Wailua River, an important freshwater resource and landmark in ancient times as well as today.
In a statement accompanying the painting Davison says, “Standing at the very back of this valley, surrounded on three sides by nearly vertical cliffs with ribbons of water falling thousands of feet from above, it’s easy to feel the power that water has in this landscape. Water drips constantly from the ferns. It rushes through narrow gullies or oozes in bogs. Its relentless force has carved this valley. This is one of those primal places that speaks to me as an artist. It’s the mountain that touches the sky and catches the rain. It’s the headwaters. It’s the source.”
A reproduction of Davison’s painting is also included in the education gallery’s interactive exhibit.
The exhibition continues through July 7, and is sponsored by the Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts in partnership with the Department of Land and Natural Resources.
The museum is located in the No. 1 Capitol District Building, 250 South Hotel St., 2nd Floor, in Honolulu. Museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information visit www.hawaii.gov/sfca.
Visit Davison Arts in Kapa‘a, call 821-8022.
