Buddies John Koga and Lawrence Seward went to college together. They surf together. Their families hang out together. And now they're showing art together, at Cedar Street Galleries.

“;Lawrence and I are really good friends from art school days at UH,”; Koga says. “;We feed off each other in regular life, and (this show) came out of conversations we had.”;

The fruits of those communications are sculptures in white by Koga and shaped paintings in wood by Seward. When the duo met at the gallery a few days before the show's opening to install the works, they were more than pleased.

“;When we put the works in the same room, I thought, 'Oh, my God, this is so good,'”; Koga says. “;There's visual excitement.”;

“;The works feed off each other,”; says Seward. “;I'm just happy to be able to make fun things and show them.”;

Though the men have been friends for a long time, they spent more than 15 years living across the country from one another.

Koga stayed in Hawaii, making a name for himself locally not only through his diverse art, but in his efforts to empower the local art scene. For a few years he exposed Honolulu to great work outside Hawaii through the well-respected Nuuanu Gallery at Marks Garage in Chinatown. (Seward was featured in a solo show there in 2008.) Through it all he's continued in his day job as chief preparator at the Contemporary Museum, a position he's held for almost 20 years.

Seward, meanwhile, stepped into the big league with a move to New York in 1991. He built a solid reputation for himself there and landed solo shows in the city, earning reviews in The New York Times, the New Yorker and Art in America.

“;In working, making and sharing the art, opportunity does come your way,”; Seward says. “;New York is a tough place to show. For me it started with group shows, and from there I worked my way up. I met a gallery person who supported my work. It's a relationship. Everything grows from that.”;

But in 2008 Seward decided it was time to come home. Today he works in art handling and maintenance, often with Koga.

LISTENING TO the artists compare themselves in separate conversations is humorous and enlightening. What shines through is their respect and affection for one another.

“;What's neat about our relationships is that we're opposites,”; says Koga. “;Lawrence pushes art to that next level in New York style. He keeps going and going until it's over the top, and I really, really admire him for that. I don't do that; I'm not sure I can.

“;I'm trying to escape that whole art thing, that craziness of art. I'm looking for a calmness, a sense of proportion, shape and visual tranquility.”;

Seward calls Koga optimistic, himself pessimistic.

“;John keeps pushing for Hawaii art. He keeps trying. I say, 'What's the point? Let's go surfing.' But John continues to support younger artists; he tries to get other people shown.

“;He (opened) Nuuanu Gallery because he wanted the art scene to have that presence,”; Seward says. “;He does it for the love of it.”;

No matter the distinctions of approach or personality, though, the friends possess an unbreakable bond in their commitment to creating art.

“;We stick to what we're after: making art an enterprise,”; Seward says. “;Our life project is to move art-making ahead, no matter what else is going on around us.”;