Donkey Mill Art Center’s “From Hand to Hand,” the second Big Island Biennial of Contemporary Art, remains on exhibit through June 24.
This exhibition samples Hawaii Island’s vibrant art community by featuring artists dedicated to long-term studio practice as well as mid-career and emerging artists working in a variety of disciplines.
“From Hand to Hand” celebrates the gift of knowledge and the relationship between the artist and protege by selecting recognized masters in their media, and showcasing an artist who they have directly taught and influenced. Featured artists in this year’s exhibition are celebrated woodworker Tai Lake and his two sons, Jonah and Noa Lake; accomplished weaver Ed Kaneko and Barbara Watanabe; and prolific multi-media artist Henry Bianchini and Eve Furchgott.
Lake has spent his life dedicated to the study of woodworking and design. He started his practice at Buckminster Fuller’s design department at Southern Illinois University and came to Hawaii in 1980 as an architectural woodworker after a woodworking apprenticeship that took him all across the U.S. These “journeyman” travels put him in touch with master craftsmen, architects, and artists, and allowed him to work on a wide variety of challenging projects. As a young practitioner and now as a master himself, Lake fully understands the value of the mentor/apprentice relationship. Lake is known for his respectful use of reclaimed native woods and has passed down this practice to his sons Jonah and Noa.
Working in his father’s shop, Jonah’s hands are often the last to touch a finished piece of furniture. His affinity for metals has led him to take a lead on custom hardware that complements the signature clean lines at Tai Lake Fine Woodworking. Noa uses hand tools to carve sculptural vessels from Hawaii-grown hardwoods. While Noa’s pieces vary largely in size and shape depending on what the wood dictates, there’s always a wild story in each one.
Kumu Kaneko was born on May 29, 1930, the sixth of 11 children born and raised on a coffee farm in Honalo. Everyone in the family picked coffee, even the smallest child had the job of picking up the beans that had fallen on the ground. In addition to farming, Kaneko’s father Yuri, supplemented the family income by weaving lauhala baskets for picking coffee, purses, and covers for cigarette packs, among other things. By the time Kaneko was 5 years old, he was weaving lauhala baskets.
Kaneko graduated from Konawaena High School and enlisted in the military in 1948. His service in the military took him to Japan where he taught Japanese to American soldiers, Korea to do reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, and to Desert Rock testing grounds as a member of support troops until he was finally discharged in 1958. Under the G.I. Bill, Kaneko moved to Honolulu to attend the University of Hawai’i and then to Michigan State University to finish his graduate degree in civil engineering. Soon after, he received a job with the Civil Aeronautic Authority and the Federal Aviation Authority where he lived and worked in different parts of the world with his family in places such as Washington DC, Honolulu, Guam and Tokyo.
After retiring in 1989, he returned to Hawaii Island with his wife, Kay, where they purchased a coffee farm in Holualoa. His dedication to culture and the Kona community led him to serve on the Board of Kona Historical Society for 10 years, become one of the founding members of the Holualoa Foundation of Arts and Culture (now the Donkey Mill Art Center), assist in designing and engineering the Higashihara Park and start the Wednesday Weavers.
Watanabe began her adventure in lauhala weaving by attending a Wednesday Weavers gathering in 2010. After convincing Kaneko that she was serious about learning, he agreed to teach her.
Bianchini is self-taught and prolific, working in various materials including wood, stone, painting, printmaking, cast concrete, and bronze. His work is born of the present, merging his love for music, ohana (family), and the spirit of travel and adventure with his diverse blend of creativity.
Furchgott has been drawing and creating art since she was very young. She is mostly self-taught, learning by doing and studying with other artists. In San Francisco in the 1970 and ’80s, she did a lot of graphic design illustrations before moving to Hawaii in 1993. In 1995, she met Bianchini.
The exhibition opened April 19 at the Donkey Mill Art Center and will come to a close on June 24. It is open from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday through Satruday.
Info: www.donkeymillartcenter.org or 322-3362.