Looking for something free to do in Waikīkī this weekend? Locals and visitors alike can plan for an evening of mele, art and aloha at Waikīkī fine art retailer and dealer, Island Art Galleries.
The free community art exhibition featuring plein air artist Stock Schlueter and multigenerational Hawaiian music group Puamana is scheduled from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, at 2154 Kalākaua Ave. in Honolulu. Details.
Admission is free with complimentary refreshments included. Validated parking will be available at Embassy Suites Waikīkī, 201 Beach Walk.
“We hope this evening will be an opportunity to celebrate and share the beauty of Hawaiian art and music with our community and those visiting the Islands,” Island Art Galleries wrote in an email to Aloha State Daily.
Live Hawaiian music will be performed by Puamana, an all-female group of family members founded in 1966 by late composer and singer, Irmgard Farden Aluli, who was born in Lahaina. Today, her daughters Mihana Aluli Souza and Aima Aluli McManus, and granddaughter Mahina Souza, carry on the ʻohana's musical legacy.
Over the span of her career, Aluli received two Nā Hōkū Hanohano Lifetime Achievement awards for writing more than 200 songs and was later inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame. She was also part Annie Kerr Trio.
Schlueter, an award-winning outdoor painter from California, is known for capturing Hawaiʻi's vibrant natural landscapes such as Punaluʻu Beach and Diamond Head, among other locations.
“Many of the plein air work is called alla prima, meaning it is completed on the spot, in one shot, with no revisions. … There is a sense of urgency. Knowing that I am not going back and what I do in this moment is it,” his online bio reads. “Occasionally, I will work on a painting in the studio that I started on location. I try not to use photos for this kind of work relying on memory and the experience of being there.”
At this event, Schlueter will return to the Islands to create a new collection of Hawaiian plein air paintings.
Established in 1991 in by owner Jeff Liu, Island Art Galleries continues to showcase Hawai‘i and international artists’ paintings, prints and sculpture and glass works, its website states. Though Liu grew up in China, his family ties to the Islands date back to 1854, per Modern Luxury. Note: Island Art Galleries previously operated in Ala Moana Center and the Moana Surfrider on Oʻahu.
“Carefully curated over three decades, our collection is composed of a variety of different cultures and histories,” its LinkedIn page reads. “[Island Art Galleries] strives to deliver beauty to the visitors and residents of Honolulu hoping to inspire them with fine art that will last for generations.”
Beyond Schlueter, featured artists include Lance Fairly’s luminous works like Moana Moon and the giclée Ala Moana; Zhou Ling, a contemporary Chinese-American artist featured in series like Flower Season and Tahitian Dancer II; Anthony Casay, who paints dramatic marine, light and tropical scenes; Leohone, known for evocative, spiritually-tied native Hawaiian natural imagery; and more.
Stay updated about future events on the gallery's Instagram.
Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros can be reached at kelsey@alohastatedaily.com.
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