Honolulu Printmakers’
exhibit is top notch as usual
This is one of those times that a writer should shut up and let the pictures do the talking. Words like "sublime," "precious" and "beautiful" won't do justice to three excellent art exhibitions -- all involving printmaking -- at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. So get out there and look for yourself. Here is some basic information as background to help you enjoy the shows:
Year after year for 74 years, Honolulu Printmakers has put on top-notch, juried exhibits showcasing printmaking by some of the most accomplished artists in the islands. These artists consistently demonstrate their well-honed skills and original thought without being faddish.
The exhibit also continues a long-standing offering of a gift print especially created for the yearly show. This year's print, which was unveiled on opening night Wednesday and is for sale for $80, is by Joe Singer, who developed the print from a photograph of the remains of a heiau in Halawa valley.
The printmakers exhibit is on view at the Academy Art Center at Linekona. An equally wonderful exhibit is in Linekona's upstairs gallery, featuring prints of photograph collages by artist and designer Alex Preiss. A native of Romania, Preiss operates his own commercial graphics service, Kennedy & Preiss Graphic Design.
Both exhibits at Linekona, free to the public and running through April 7, represent a strong segment of contemporary art-making in the islands. Go across the street to the academy, and you will see 19 examples of the best prints made in the islands in the early part of last century.
Jennifer Saville, curator of Western art, spent a long weekend going through several hundred prints in the museum's collection and selected the small grouping for display in the John Dominis and Patches Damon Holt Gallery. This show demonstrates the ability of an earlier generation of Hawaii artists and provides documentation of the landscape of that time.
