Art for the people

It's been an illuminating month for Laura Smith, the new addition to the lineup of artists at the cooperative Gallery at Ward Centre. During her shift in the gallery, a rather quiet space for all the hustle and bustle in the mall, Smith greets the occasional customer with a big smile and talks of everything from the gorgeous glass vessel on a podium to the paint job on the walls. The register doesn't ring much, but for Smith this first venture into a commercial venue is rich for other reasons.

"It's sometimes hard for artists to have much contact with people who look at their art, and I think it's really important for artists to have that opportunity. That's what the Gallery at Ward Centre has done for me," she says.

Smith is executive director of the Honolulu Printmakers and has been making art for 20 years. She comes to the gallery with impressive credentials: She was the recipient of the Cox award from the Honolulu Academy of Arts, and her works are in collections at the academy, the Contemporary Museum and the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.

Yet for all that, she says this is the first time she's come into contact with the general public, rather than the fellow artists and art professionals who have been her almost exclusive community for decades.

"When the printmakers have their annual exhibition, all the artists in the show sit (in the gallery) for two- or three-hour sessions, and that's the amount of contact they have with the general viewing public. Two or three hours once a year -- that's not much.

"I think it's really good for artists to know how people respond to their art. I think most artists want to share their visual ideas, and that's one reason they do what they do. So this is not all about sales, it's about reaching people."

And on a most practical note: "It's great because this place allows me to find other homes for my work besides my house," she says with a laugh. "I'd been having to cut back on other things to be able to make more art."

This month, the gallery is highlighting oils by Susie Y. Anderson and carved and turned wood art by Michael Lee through Aug. 28. Other prominent names in the cooperative space include Debbie Young, Helen Iaea, Doug Young, Steve Martin and Bud Spindt.

The Gallery at Ward Centre is open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays, and until 6 p.m. Sundays. Call 597-8034.