Volcano Art Center is proud to announce an exhibition of Avi Kiriaty’s work in the show titled “Kumu Pele.” This exhibition of original paintings and prints will be on display daily, 9am – 5pm from July 18 – August 23, 2015 at Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. The exhibit is open to the public and free of charge although park entrance fees apply. A special opening reception with the artist is on Saturday, July 18th from 5-7 pm at Volcano Art Center gallery.

Avi has continued to captures the Hawai’i landscape and his observations of its people in joyful paintings and prints. For a deeper study into the Polynesian Culture, Avi and his family traveled to 19 different islands in French Polynesia and the Cook Islands. His work has been profoundly influenced by this journey. One example of this influence is Avi’s unique collection of Storyboards. Throughout the South Pacific many cultures create Storyboards as a form of art that documents their oral tradition and their cultural history. They have been made in many different forms, including woodcarvings and tapa cloth designs.

Avi has developed his own style of Polynesian storyboard using oil paint on linen canvas. The texture, and partially the style, of these works is similar to that of his Lino-Block prints. His daughter works with him in the studio on these pieces in an apprentice fashion, filling in the layers at his direction. This working relationship has developed a line of paintings that have a unique style of their own while still being clearly Avi Kiriaty originals.

Volcano Art Center’s Gallery Manager, Emily C. Weiss said of the exhibit, “Volcano Art Center Gallery is pleased to showcase Avi’s recent works, which honor our host culture, representing the beauty of both Hawaii’s landscapes and people. We hope everyone here on the Big Island and art enthusiasts everywhere will not miss this unique opportunity to support Avi and his works by attending the exhibition.”

To view more of his work, visit his website, visit his Facebook page, OR if youʻd like to stay up to date, follow him on Twitter!