Gallery Blog - Paia Contemporary Gallery

Maui News Art In View writes:

“Maui has its fair share of galleries specializing in art that showcases the beauty of our island paradise. Realistic depictions of splashing humpback whales, sunsets, tropical flowers and other island scenes are abundant and well represented. Abstract art is not nearly as well represented.

One gallery that specializes in abstract contemporary art is Paia Contemporary Gallery at 83 Hana Highway. Created by a core group of Hawaii artists, alongside national, and international established talents, will present a new show with an artist reception from 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturday.

The featured artists are Jessica Drenk, abstract sculptor from South Carolina; Joseph Segal, abstract sculptor from Florida; and Al Schwartz, a Maui abstract artist who has turned to contemporary painting after a long history in ceramics.

For the last 15 years, Schwartz has collected certain minerals from the clays on the island. He has now found a way to incorporate those same minerals into his paintings, giving an earthly sheen to these modern color fields.

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Drenk works with everyday items, objects of modern society, and turns them into something iconic. Pencils, toilet paper, books, ear buds, PVC pipe these are some of the elements Drenk masterfully transforms, to gracefully enter the realm of fine art.

“By transforming familiar objects into nature-inspired forms and patterns, I examine how we classify the world around us,” says Drenk. “Manufactured goods appear as natural objects, something functional becomes something decorative, a simple material is made complex, and the commonplace becomes unique.”

Segal’s honors include the Historic Preservation Award from the City of Jacksonville, multiple Artistic Enhancement Grants from the State of Florida and multiple Fostering Vitality in the Arts Grants from the Jacksonville Community Foundation. His work has been featured in over 150 solo and group exhibitions in public buildings and national galleries since 1993.

“I impose a geometric composition on natural materials to examine our relationship with the environment,” says Segal. “A need for order is balanced with a desire for deeper understanding of the essence of the elements that I work with. I use processes and finishes that either obscure or illuminate the nature of these materials to reiterate the divergence within these concepts.”

The show runs through Aug. 22.”

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Maui News “Art In View” writes-

“Paia Contemporary Gallery will unveil its first 2012 exhibition featuring new works by award-winning artists Michael Kessler of Santa Fe, N.M., and McKay Otto of Wimberly, Texas. A public reception will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday; the show continues through April 4.

Both painters are recognized in the U.S. and abroad, and their pieces have been shown in scores of exhibitions.

Kessler’s awards include the Rome Prize for Painting from the American Academy in Rome in 1990 and a Pollock/Krasner Award in Painting in 1992. His work has been featured in 150 solo exhibitions since 1983, and his paintings appear in more than 20 U.S. museum collections, including the Brooklyn Museum in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

“I see my work as a metaphor for nature – about wondering how it (nature) got that way, realizing that we may never find out,” Kessler said in a gallery release.

Otto’s work has been featured in more than 90 exhibitions nationally and internationally since 1989. His awards and grants include the 2008 Hunting Art Prize finalist, and he is one of only two artists mentored by famous abstract reductionist Agnes Martin.

McKay Otto's "Ever Cicle Around Ever"

“This current body of work may serve as a metaphor for humanity’s capacity to transcend itself,” Otto said in the release.

Gallery director Lauren Harris said both artists will create a not-to-miss experience for viewers: “These artists ask us to look deeper . . . into nature, into ourselves, and into the work that has transpired from inspiration.”

Paia Contemporary Gallery, which holds tri-annual receptions, specializes in abstract, contemporary artwork created by a core group of Hawaii artists, alongside national, and international established talents. The gallery, open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and by appointment, is located at 83 Hana Highway. Call 579-8444 or visit www.paiacontemporarygallery.com.”

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