Having a Show

What is there about showing a body of work? Months, even years of effort spent pounding away at stubborn materials to make a presentation results in what? Maybe, if you are lucky there are a couple of sales. Very likely, everything comes home to take up valuable space and remind you of your inadequacies. This is not a practical thing to do for most of us. But it is a marker, a sure sign that you are taking your work seriously. And if we do not take our own work seriously how can we expect anyone else to?

Art is a strange business. If it is not shared it really does not exist. Can you imagine a dance performance without an audience? The visual artist is no less a performer, it’s just that the artwork is now an embodiment of the creative effort even as the artist steps aside to show it. A show may be all the opportunity you get to communicate with others the ideas, images and passions that drive you. It is a statement of your life, and how can that be overstated? No matter how much work it is, an artist needs to put his work into perspective. Until the art is given space and is well presented with good lighting and complimentary surroundings it is just guess work. Every artist should have at least one personal exhibition.

The show “Wire and Wood”  will be up until April 21st at the Koa Art Gallery. Opening hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 10 am to 3 pm. Free and open to the public. Address: KCC, 4303 Diamond Head Rd, Honolulu, Hawaii 96816.