1. ART
TODAY S U N DAY 6/12/16 >> H ON OLU LU STAR-ADVE RTI S E R >> F7
ARTWEEK
Send items at least two weeks
in advance of publication to 500
Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-210,
Honolulu 96813, fax 529-4750 or
email mpennybacker@staradver-
tiser.com.
OPENING
>> Independence exhibit: In
celebration of Philippines Inde-
pendence Day, showcasing local
Filipino artists. 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
through June 29, Honolulu Hale,
Lane Gallery, 530 S. King St.,
honolulu.gov/moca. Reception:
4-6 p.m. Thursday.
>> OOPPS Club (Original Oil
Painting Pals) exhibit: Works by
seniors from the Makua Alii Senior
Center. Through July 1, Honolulu
Hale Courtyard, 973-7258. Opens
Monday. Reception, 4-6 p.m.
Tuesday.
CONTINUING
>> “Alloys of Thought”: Featur-
ing mixed media works created by
students in advanced sculpture.
Through June 24, Common Gal-
lery, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Art Building, 956-8364.
>> “Conceptual Art 101: Marcel
Duchampt’s “Boite-en-Valise”:
Single piece of artwork expresses
how art is “less about the object
than about the concept behind it.”
Through June 19, Honolulu Muse-
um of Art, 532-8700, honolulu-
museum.org.
>> “Earth”: Featuring new paint-
ings by Hamilton Kobayashi and
ceramics by Kenny Kicklighter and
Christopher Edwards. Ends today,
Cedar Street Galleries, second
floor, 589-1580.
>> “Lei Hulu”: Featuring historic
feathered leis. Through June 30,
Halekulani art gallery, 923-2311,
halekulani.com.
>> “Loose Leaf Notebook
Drawings”: Richard Tuttle’s series
of watercolors created in the early
1980s. Through June 19, Honolulu
Museum of Art, 532-8700, honolu-
lumuseum.org.
>> “New Figuration”: Featuring
artists Kay Armstrong, Alison
Beste, Calvin Collins, Philippe
Gross, Paul Levitt and John Ham-
blin. Through June 30, Mezzannine
Gallery at Pauahi Tower, 1003
Bishop St., 271-0952.
>> “(tangential)”: Works by
Geoffrey Siu. Through June 21,
Mission Houses Museum, Social
Hall & Cafe, 553 South King St.,
447-3910, geoffreysiu.com.
>> “Unsonmay, Industrial
Scale/Artistic Precision and
Changing Light: Presence of
Absence”: Photographs by Justin
Davies, large-scale ceramic works
by David Kuraoka and abstract
ocean photographs by Bruna
Stude. Ends Friday, Honolulu
Museum of Art at First Hawaiian
Center, 999 Bishop St., 532-
8701, honolulumuseum.org.
>> Waikiki Parc features Percy
Lam: Through June 24, Parc
Promenade Gallery, Waikiki Parc
Hotel lobby, 2233 Helumoa Road,
956-8251.
>> “The Wave-Odyssey of
Earth”: Photography by Shuro
Matsumoto. Through June 30,
Canon U.S.A., Hawaii Office,
210 Ward Ave., Suite 200,
522-5930.
SPECIAL
>> “MAMo at the MACC: Wear-
able Art Show”: With designs by
Maile Andrade, Elisha Clemons,
Koa Johnson, Anna Kahalekulu,
Kehaulani Kekua, Manaola Hawaii,
Marques Marzan, Keoua Nelsen
and Wahine Toa. 7:30 p.m.,
June 25, Maui Arts & Cultural
Center, $35-$65, MauiArts.org.
>> “f808 photohawaii”: Cele-
bration of photography features
panels and screenings with local
photographers. Keynote guests
include Franco Salmoiraghi and
Zak Noyle. 9 a.m.-5 p.m.,
June 27, Halekulani Hotel ballroom,
$65, $55 (college students),
$75 (registration after June 22),
includes buffet lunch, 956-8400,
f808photohawaii.com.
LECTURES, MEETINGS, DEMOS
>> Make Lei Demonstrations
with Kuana Torres Kahele:
2-4 p.m. Saturday at Na Mea
Hawaii/Native Books, 596-8885.
WORKSHOPS/CLASSES
>> “Botanical Drawing and
Painting-Self Directed”: Bring
#4 round brush, Bristol paper
and watercolor set or watercolor
pencils. Some drawing/watercolor
experience is helpful. 9:30 a.m.-
noon Wednesdays, Hoomaluhia
Botanical Garden, No fee, RSVP
required, 233-7323.
For a complete calendar,
visit 808ne.ws/artweek-
calendar
com c
Street cred
A
rt can be found ev-
erywhere, and in the
case of Mark Brown’s
exhibit, “Chinatown Plein Air,”
at the Louis Pohl Gallery
downtown, art can be found
right in the neighborhood that
inspired it. Brown is a plein air
artist whose oil paintings take
what passersby may perceive
as ordinary scenes in China-
town and breathe them into
vivid and arresting life.
“These paintings give the
flavor of the streets,” said
Brown in an interview at the
gallery a few hours before the
opening of his show, which
features work he made this
year. “I wanted to be true to
the grit, rawness and beauty of
Chinatown.”
The French term “plein air”
refers to drawing and painting
outdoors. It’s easy to recog-
nize exactly where Brown set
up his easel in paintings such
as “Kekaulike Market” and
“Oahu Market.” The bustling,
lively streets that many of us
see every day on our way to
work are captured in vibrant
reds, oranges and browns. An-
other local landmark captured
in paintings is the Club Hubba
Hubba sign on North King
Street. These depictions of
Chinatown, which range in
size from 8-by-10 inches to 48-
by-60 inches, are Brown’s way
of paying tribute to a neigh-
borhood he has close ties to.
“I’m half-Chinese, and grow-
ing up, my mom would take
me to Chinatown often,” he
said. “As a child, there was al-
ways a sort of excitement I felt
whenever I came (here), so
there is definitely that connec-
tion while I was painting.”
Brown was interested in art
from a young age, creating
comics during intermediate
school and painting in high
school. Brown started plein air
painting in 1993, attending dif-
ferent classes at the University
of Hawaii at Manoa, Kapiolani
Community College and Cham-
inade University. “I learned
that with plein air, it’s all about
the subject, perspective, lay-
out,” he said.
Since 2000, he has been
teaching a plein air class in the
UH-Manoa outreach program.
Together with his students, he
draws on location every Satur-
day at different places around
Oahu; providing a nice bal-
ance to the exhibit’s urban
scenes are paintings of serene
gardens at the Honolulu Mu-
seum of Art and the East West
Center, and of the green
Koolaus, one of Brown’s favor-
ite subjects, seen from Kualoa
park.
“It’s almost like when I’m
painting on location, I’m doing
my reporting. Then I take the
painting to my studio and edi-
torialize it by adding more
color or texture to it,” he said.
This is particularly true of his
painting “Oahu Market,” in
which he purposefully
“pushed” the colors in the
painting, he said.
“There are so many differ-
ent levels of painting China-
town. As I’m observing, I see
how resilient the store owners
are, even though there are so
many things coming at them –
it’s not just running a shop,”
Brown said.
He added that he wore
clothes from Savers while
painting, which is a messy
business, and people down-
town would come by and give
him money.
Due to public interactions,
one of Brown’s challenges was
maintaining his focus. People
would also come up to him to
chat and ask questions. “I’d be
receptive to those people, but
I’d also have to make sure that
I didn’t lend my entire energy
to them. That’s something I’d
teach my students and fellow
artists as well. For example, I
tell them not to turn your
whole body to (face) them be-
cause the dialogue between
you and what you’re painting
should be stronger than other
people interrupting you.”
Painting Kekaulike Market
was the ultimate test, because
he often ran into people that
he knows. “But these people
are always encouraging.”
Visit Louis Pohl Gallery to
view an exhibit that depicts
scenes that you’ll probably
see on your way there. Skill
aside, Brown shows us that it
just takes another perspec-
tive, and a little more color, to
appreciate the art inherent in
a neighborhood as bustling
and resilient as our China-
town.
Mark Brown’s plein air paintings capture the essence of Chinatown
By Maria Kanai
Special to the Star-Advertiser
PHOTOS BY BRUCE ASATO / BASATO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Mark Brown vetted his exhibit at the Louis Pohl Gallery
in Chinatown a few hours before its opening on June 3.
“Kekaulike Market,” is one of Mark Brown’s plein air oil paintings of Chinatown.
“MARK BROWN’S CHI-
NATOWN PLEIN AIR”
EXHIBIT
>> Where: Louis Pohl
Gallery, 1142 Bethel St.
When: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Tuesday through Fri-
day, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Saturday; closed Sun-
day and Monday.
Through June 24.
Admission: Free
Info: 521-1812, louis-
pohlgallery.com