University of Hawaii art exhibition offers perspective on Tadashi Sato

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The early works of Tadashi Sato, one of Hawaii’s most important artists, are getting a major display at the University of Hawaii at Manoa Art Gallery.

The show, titled “Tadashi Sato: Atomic Abstraction in the Fiftieth State, 1954-1963,” focuses on Sato as a pivotal figure on Hawaii’s art scene during the early years of statehood. Maika Pollack, director and chief curator of UH’s art galleries, said at the time there was considerable debate over issues ranging from the cost of a public art program — Hawaii would eventually become the first state to implement a public art program — to whether abstract art would be suitable for local audiences. “Sato really brings these issues to the new state of Hawaii,” she said.

The exhibit includes works that reflect Sato’s days with the Metcalf Chateau, a group of artists with local ties who studied beyond Hawaii but eventually returned to the islands. Works like the gritty “Subway Exit” “hint at his training as a New York artist,” she said, while other works show softer imagery, reflecting Sato’s response to a trip to Japan as well as his island upbringing. “You can see more (representative art) creeping in, the branches, maybe bonsai or coral forms,” ​​Pollack said.

“Sato was very successful at the time,” she said. “He showed in London. Critics compared him to Monet. They said that if Monet does the way light falls through water with color, Tadashi Sato does it with paint.”

One of Sato’s most famous works, a 63-foot-long mural created for the Maui War Memorial Center in Wailuku, is on display in parts. The original was destroyed by rain, and Sato had it taken down so he could repaint it, saving parts of the original to be distributed as individual works. Pollack managed to locate a few pieces and displayed them in a way that shows how they would originally fit together.

The exhibit also includes some works by Sato’s contemporaries, such as Harry Tsuchidana and Satoru Abe, Pollack said. “I try to show the real historical connections between artists,” she said.

A reception will be held at 14:00 13 November. The exhibition is open until December 4. Gallery hours are noon to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Entry is free.

For more information, call 808-956-8364 or email gallery@hawaii.edu.

Here’s a look at other current and upcoming offerings on Oahu’s art scene:

Gallery ‘Iolani

In Kaneohe, Windward Community College’s Gallery ‘Iolani pays tribute to its art department in the exhibit “Wow! And Then,” featuring 23 artists who taught there. “It was one of the most difficult exhibitions I’ve ever done because the work is so varied,” says curator Toni Martin, who also has some pastels in the exhibition.

Among the works on display will be some by WCC art department founders photographer Mark Hamasaki, ceramist Paul Nash and painter Snowden Hodges, who founded WCC’s popular studio, an artist studio program that promotes traditional Western painting methods and techniques has. Until Dec. 2

Information: gallery.windward.hawaii.edu

Downtown Art Center

In Honolulu, at Downtown Art Center (1041 Nuuanu Ave., 2nd floor), the Hawai’i Visual Arts Group presents “Flashpoint,” a show featuring 23 artists working off the theme of fire. “These are all the artists’ interpretations, so they can refer to how the piece was made process-wise, or can go deep into the message,” said organizer Lori Uyehara, adding that the theme was meant to get the artists “creatively out think” of their normal comfort zone.”

Uyehara submits a sculpture of two seesaw-like lizard-like figures. “They are supposed to represent the embers that would be left behind after a big fire,” she said. Other works include colorful bowls by Vince Hazen and Yukio Ozaki, playful figurines by Rochelle Lum, Lynn Weiler Liverton, Esther Shimazu and Maile Yawata, and sterling silver dragon pendants (they are firecrackers, after all) by Donna Shimazu. Until 12 Nov.

Info: flashpointartshow.com

Arts at Marks Garage

At the nearby Arts at Marks Garage (1159 Nuuanu Ave.), Hawai’i Sea Grant, a University of Hawaii-based program that promotes the conservation of coastal resources, presents works based on the theme of water sustainability. The program, which runs from Thursday to November 26, will host several seminars in November. Information: artsatmarks.com

Daihonzan Chozen-ji temple

In Kalihi Valley, the Daihonzan Chozen-ji Temple celebrates 50 years of art at its annual Zen Art Show and Sale. The display features calligraphy and ceramics by Japanese Zen masters and students at the temple. The event is Friday through Sunday at 3565 Kalihi St.

Information: chozen-ji.org/art-show

Park West Fine Art Museum & Gallery

Park West Fine Art Museum & Gallery in Waikiki invites the public to select the three finalists for its second annual Made in Hawaii artist competition. From Tuesday until November 15, visitors to the gallery (226 Lewers St.) can choose from 10 semifinalists. A panel of local and international judges will select the winner.

Info: parkwestgallery.com/hawaii

Honolulu Museum of Art

At the Honolulu Museum of Art, the new exhibit “Moemoea” features wearable art by Maui-based artist Noah Harders, who uses found materials like flowers, shells and beach glass to make surreal masks and headdresses, then photographs himself wearing them , drawing. viewers in his fantasy; “moemoea” means “to dream” or “fantasy” in Hawaiian. “When I put on these masks, I feel as if I embody the spirit and essence of seemingly ordinary materials that can be found around us,” he said in a press release. Runs Thursday until 23 July 2023.

Also at the museum, “Navigating a Minefield: A Manga Depiction of Japanese Americans in the Second World War” continues the museum’s exploration of graphic novels as an art form. The show includes sketches from the 2012 graphic novel “Journey of Heroes: The Story of the 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.” The novel was created as a companion to the 2017 film “Go for Broke: An Origin Story,” which will be shown at the Doris Duke Theater on December 2 at 7:00 p.m. Filmmaker Stacey Hayashi will speak. Until March 5, 2023.

Ongoing at the museum are the exhibitions “Awakening: Rebecca Louise Law,” by the British installation artist who filled two galleries with floral material, collected over 15 years around the world and put together by local volunteers; and “Reveries: The Art of Hung Liu,” featuring the Chinese-born artist’s depictions of people under stress.

Information: honolulumuseum.org.

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