Calendar of Events

Aug
26
Sat
2023
Exhibit: Hawaiʻi Nei Invitational
Aug 26 @ 9:00 am – Oct 1 @ 5:00 pm

 Hawaiʻi Nei Invitational Exhibition will be on display until October 1st, 9 am – 5 pm, daily at the Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

The multi-media exhibition showcases seven outstanding artists who were selected from the Hawai`i Nei 2022 Art Contest celebrating Hawai`i Island’s native species held at Wailoa Art Center. The artists including Kathy Sprinkle, Robert Peck, Saxony Charlot, Aleysia Ray Kaha, Janee Weddell-Hespenheide, Aly Kat, Jillian Marohnic, and Dawn Sagar were challenged with exploring the theme of Chiaroscuro, the use of strong contrast between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition.  It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achieve a sense of volume in modeling three-dimensional objects and figures.

Visit the VAC Gallery to see how the artists expressed this theme through their art of Hawaiʻi’s native species or landscape found within Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. For those who can not attend the exhibition in person, it may also be viewed online at www.volcanoartcenter.org

Volcano Art Center is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization created in 1974 whose mission is to promote, develop and perpetuate the artistic, cultural and environmental heritage of Hawaii through arts and education. Please visit www.volcanoartcenter.org for more information.

Sep
16
Sat
2023
Exhibit: Walking Through Mist: Metaphors and Memories featuring Phan Barker
Sep 16 @ 10:00 am – Oct 8 @ 4:00 pm

Walking Through Mist – Metaphors and Memories, continues through Sunday, October 8th at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus (19-4074 Old Volcano Rd.) in Volcano Village.  Open Wednesday through Sunday, from 10 am – 4 pm. Closed Mondays & Tuesdays.

Phan was born in Tu Chau, Ha Dong Province, North Vietnam, and went south with her family when Vietnam was divided in 1954.  For many years she did not want to return to Vietnam because, in her mind, it was a place of death and sorrow.

In 1992, Phan returned to Vietnam with Jeanette Foster, a journalist friend.  After 23 years, Phan re-established a relationship with her older sister, nine children, and grandchildren. Phan and Jeanette took her sister and family to their birthplace 30 miles north of Hanoi. They visited relatives in their ancestral home and burned incense at their mother’s grave.

On her return home to Hawaiʻi, Phan dealt for months with the overwhelming emotions stirred up by the trip.  She struggled with various media, and a new work emerged.  She named it The White Mourning Cloth series. “The series of work is about my unresolved feeling for my mother and my motherland, mourning the souls that died in the Vietnam War and healing the wounds—mine and others—whose life has been affected by the war.”   In conjunction with her exhibit, she presented a slide show and lecture entitled Seedlings of Peace and a healing ceremony for the community.

In this series, Walking Through Mist, Phan shares with the community haunting images from the past, untangled emotional issues, honors her parents, Uncle and Aunt, and pays tribute to people who sheltered and helped her reach the United States.

Cheesecloth, bamboo, silk, thread, woodcut printed paper, and drywall are the materials she uses to re-weave and reclaim her world’s past utilizing the half-century of growing skill and understanding. In Vietnamese culture, cheesecloth is used in making mourning clothes.  “For me,” says Phan, “this fabric embodies eternal sadness.  Its sheerness is mystical.”

In December 2021, the Walking Through Mist Series debuted at the East Hawaiʻi Cultural Center.  The curator, Andrzej Kramars, said it was one of the year’s three best exhibitions.

“…. It is one of the most moving, extraordinary exhibits I have ever seen.  Each piece was so moving, and so meticulously done.  Thank you for bringing this to us.”  Marilyn Nicholson, Former Director VAC.

“It is a gallery of memories, so skillfully assembled that we are drawn into another world, into that temple of quiet that is recollection.  Images in thread on the semi-transparent gauze of mourning cloth are a perfect vehicle and metaphor for memory – convey the underlying emotion where memories reside.”  Caroline Garrett, Writer, Poet.

“This exhibit is a treasure that took her a lifetime to make.  It is breathtakingly beautiful aesthetically, conceptually, and a deeply meaningful gift openly given from a truthful soul.”  Elizabeth Miller, Artist.

Phan has participated and lectured nationally and locally in numerous Invitational Exhibitions, including the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition, the US Geological Survey’s Asian Pacific American Art Exhibition, the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, and The Contemporary Museum in Hawaiʻi. Her artwork is in the Honolulu Art Museum, Hawaiʻi State Art Museum, and the Toyota Corporation collections.

Oct
7
Sat
2023
Exhibit: Points Of View – Plein Air
Oct 7 @ 9:00 am – Nov 12 @ 5:00 pm

The Volcano Art Center (VAC) is proud to announce “Points of Viewa plein air, group exhibition featuring gouache, oil and acrylic paintings and sketches at VAC Gallery on display October 7th – November 12th,  9am – 5pm, daily at Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

Featuring the works of Bonnie Sol Hahn, Robert Weiss, Kira Kamamalu, Jack Kinkelaar and Amy Markham the exhibit presents the unique perspective and approach to landscape by each participating artist.   Painting outdoors,  surrounded by the beauty of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, the artists work to capture the impression or essence of a place or scene. “In a sense capturing the mana of the wahi pana (special place)” as expressed by Bonnie Sol Hahn.  The artists renditions illustrate varied inspirations, perspectives, textures and moods representing the same place in different ways.

 

Join the artist at the opening reception on Saturday, October 7th from 2-4pm .  For those who are not able to attend the exhibition in person, it may also be viewed online at www.volcanoartcenter.org

Dec
17
Sun
2023
Exhibit: Niaulani Sculpture Garden Exhibit – Worth Of Water – Sculpture Garden Opening and Artist Reception
Dec 17 @ 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Worth Of Water – Sculpture Garden Opening and Artist Reception

December 17, 2023

more information to come!

Feb
17
Sat
2024
Exhibit: Dietrich Varez
Feb 17 @ 9:00 am – Apr 7 @ 5:00 pm
Volcano Art Center is proud to announce the exhibition by Dietrich Varez. The exhibit opens February 17th and will continue through April 7th, 2024.  The gallery is open daily, 9am -5pm in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. While the exhibit is free to attend, park entrances fees apply.

 

Jun
1
Sat
2024
Exhibit: Diana Miller
Jun 1 @ 9:00 am – Jul 7 @ 5:00 pm
The Volcano Art Center (VAC) is proud to announce Diana Miller Exhibiting at the VAC gallery in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park from June 1st – July 7th, 2024. While the exhibit and reception are free, park entrance fees apply.  The exhibit will also be available for viewing on VAC’s website upon opening. For more information please contact Emily C. Weiss at (808) 967-7565 or email sales@volcanoartcenter.org
Aug
31
Sat
2024
Exhibit: John Dawson
Aug 31 @ 9:00 am – Oct 13 @ 5:00 pm
The Volcano Art Center (VAC) is proud to announce John Dawson Exhibiting at the VAC gallery in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park from August 31st – October 13, 2024. While the exhibit and reception are free, park entrance fees apply.  The exhibit will also be available for viewing on VAC’s website upon opening. For more information please contact Emily C. Weiss at (808) 967-7565 or email sales@volcanoartcenter.org
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