Hawai’i Triennial featuring Theaster Gates
The Honolulu Museum of Art (HoMA) presents the work of 14 artists and collectives in partnership with Hawai‘i Contemporary as part of Hawai‘i Triennial 2022 (HT22), Pacific Century – E Ho‘omau no Moananuiākea.
The exhibition will bring together artists from across the Asia Pacific region to Honolulu for a citywide celebration of contemporary art from February. 18 through May 8, 2022. HoMA’s presentation will include new installations from 18 emerging and established artists (some working as collectives) in a variety of gallery spaces throughout the museum.
Unique to HoMA will be a site-specific installation by leading artist and social innovator Theaster Gates (b. 1973), who lives and works in Chicago. Gates’s gallery installation for HoMA will include tarred ceramic vessels, a vitrine intervention and film presented in conversation with the museum’s historic Japanese collection. Gates’s work highlights the collaborative and spiritual process of the Asian ceramic tradition and reveals its connections and influence on the artist’s own career.
In addition to Gates’s project, HoMA’s Triennial presentation will feature the work of the following artists: Ai Iwane, Ed Greevy and Haunani-Kay Trask, Masanori Handa, Yuree Kensaku, Sung Hwan Kim and David Michael DiGregorio, Liu Xiaodong, 目mé (Haruka Kojin, Kenji Minamigawa and Hirofumi Masui), Shinro Ohtake, Mika Tajima, Dan Taulapapa McMullin, Xu Bing, Chikako Yamashiro and Lawrence Seward.
“HoMA’s interpretation of the overarching Triennial themes centers on the Pacific Ocean as a connective body for cross cultural exchange,” Director of Curatorial Affairs Catherine Whitney said. “These artists and collectives explore ideas of Pacific culture, ecology, social change and Indigenous voices. They underline the museum’s commitment to presenting art of our time and place and offering an ever-broadening array of global practices and approaches.”
About the Honolulu Museum of Art
A vital part of Hawaiʻi’s cultural landscape, HoMA is a unique gathering place where art, global worldviews, culture, and education converge in the heart of Honolulu. In addition to an internationally renowned permanent collection, the museum houses innovative exhibitions, an art school, an independent art house theatre, a café and a museum shop, within one of the most beautiful, iconic buildings in Hawaiʻi.
The museum is a home for art and education, inspiring and uplifting our community through transformative art experiences that celebrate creativity, cultivate wonder, foster empathy, and enhance knowledge in order to deepen our connection with one another and the world we share.
About Hawai‘i Contemporary
Inspired by the unique histories of Hawai‘i, a gathering place for diverse peoples and ideas, Hawai‘i Contemporary connects communities from across our islands and regions united by the Pacific Ocean and beyond. As a collaborative art partner, Hawai‘i Contemporary cultivates cultural alliances to showcase the Hawai‘i Triennial every three years and to celebrate contemporary art and ideas. The multi-site public exhibition is complemented by year-round public and art education programs contributing to the local arts ecosystem, and affirming Hawai‘i Contemporary’s commitment to creating an accessible gateway for art in Hawai‘i.
HT22 is curated by curatorial director Dr. Melissa Chiu (director of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C.), in collaboration with associate curators Dr. Miwako Tezuka (associate director of the Reversible Destiny Foundation in New York) and Drew Kahu‘āina Broderick (director of Koa Gallery, Kapiolani Community College in Honolulu). Organized by Hawai‘i Contemporary, HT22 is made possible by presenting sponsors Hawai‘i State Art Museum, supported by State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, and MakeVisible.
