ON EXHIBIT
FINE ARTS ASSOCIATES
On view at Gucci is Randall Shiroma's "The Source."
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Fashion and art merge in showcase of top Hawaii artists
Art meets fashion at 2100 Kalakaua when four luxury retailers open their floors to artists today through next Friday as a way of celebrating the arts. Works by four world-class Hawaii artists will be featured as follows:
» Chanel: Mac James (oil painting)
» Gucci: Randall Shiroma (stone sculpture)
» Tiffany & Co.: John Koga (cast resin sculpture)
» Yves Saint Laurent: Mary Mitsuda (abstract painting)
Works were chosen for display by the individual boutiques, following a presentation of works by the Fine Arts Associates, a group of art consultants whose owner, Greg Northrup, is no stranger to linking the worlds of fashion, design and art.
Art at 2100 Kalakaua
Show of art at Luxury Row:
Place: Chanel, Gucci, Tiffany & Co. and Yves Saint Laurent
Time: Art on view from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. today through next Friday; meet the artists in the respective stores from 6 to 9 p.m. tomorrow.
Admission: Free
Call: 955-2878
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The Fine Arts Associates helped put together a collection for Neiman Marcus and, last January, presented a team of Hawaii artists to work with mannequin and furniture designer Ralph Pucci.
"Fine art, fashion and design all work hand in hand, really, and I think globally we'll be seeing much more of that," Northrup said. "It's something that's been happening a long time, though it's taken a while to get here. I think the high-end retailers coming to Hawaii have encouraged that."
For the boutiques, the works enhance the shopping experience while reinforcing brand image. Koga's undulating cast resin pieces easily fit with the sleek sculptural forms of Tiffany jewelry created by Elsa Peretti, Paloma Picasso and Frank Gehry.
The four seasons are delicately rendered in oils by Mac James as a backdrop to fast-changing seasonal collections at Chanel, while bold stone sculptures by Randall Shiroma make as much of a statement at Gucci as the company's sexy clothing. Abstracts by Mary Mitsuda reinforce the strong lines of Yves Saint Laurent.
FINE ARTS ASSOCIATES
On view at Yves Saint Laurent is "Conceal-Reveal III" by Mary Mitsuda.
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It's a partnership that will also help boost the profiles of Hawaii artists, who, long isolated from mainstream galleries and media, might finally win recognition outside the state.
"This will certainly help spread the visual news," Northrup said, as he envisions the images that will be broadcast from here to New York, and the resulting excitement.
"The Pucci show in New York was very well received," he said, to the point where more work by Hawaii artists was featured at the opening of the designer's new studio and design center in Los Angeles. Koga returns to New York next week for another show with Pucci.
"One of my goals has always been to get fine artists from Hawaii more exposure on the mainland, and with mainland visitors as well," Northrup said. "I've been in the art business a long time, and I'm finding more and more people who are visitors or who have second homes here, who are just delighted by the high quality of art here. They're not only buying art for their homes here, but bringing art back to their homes on the mainland.
"I'm very happy about this exhibition, and I hope they'll do it again next year."