2016 MFA Thesis Exhibitions

January 17, 2016 - February 12, 2016
Mānoa Campus, Art Building, The Art Gallery at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa

MFA candidates from the Department of Art + Art History, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM), concurrently present their thesis works at The Art Gallery. These exciting exhibitions are part of a demanding course of study, production, and review. Each artist’s work is presented in a separate section of the gallery. The artists, the titles of their exhibitions, and their areas of specialization are:

Jake Boggs, "Re/Collecting," (ceramics)

Kalani Largusa, "I too am here," (painting)

Kamran Samimi, "Passage," (print media and sculpture)

SPECIAL EVENTS:

All events are free and open to the public.

Sunday, January 17, 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Gallery walk-throughs

2:00 p.m. Jake Boggs

2:20 p.m. Kalani Largusa

2:40 p.m. Kamran Samimi

3:00 – 5:00 p.m. Opening reception with music by guitarist Aaron Cardenas

Thursday, January 28, 3:30 – 5:00 p.m.

Gallery walk-throughs

3:30 p.m. Jake Boggs

4:00 p.m. Kalani Largusa

4:30 p.m. Kamran Samimi

ARTIST STATEMENTS:

Jake Boggs presents "Re/Collecting," an installation

Souvenirs are laden with the memories of experience; they have the power to conjure up a time past and continue to serve this function even as those memories erode. A collection of objects forms a narrative, a story composed by its elements. These objects are presented as offerings, to be imbued with new memories and histories, to become elements of a new collection.

Kalani Largusa presents "I too am here," a selection of paintings The passage of time in Nicolas Poussin’s, Et in Arcadia Ego is poetically revealed through the strong shadow on the tomb cast by the kneeling figure as he scrutinizes an inscription; “I too am in Arcadia” (I live in or had once lived in paradise).

Kalani Largusa’s contemporary abstract paintings in the exhibition I too am here explore a sense of time through the use of an evolved “X” and pyramid pattern. The paintings utilize “cold moves” which suggest spontaneity despite a calculated and deliberately slow execution and strike a balance between pattern and intuition as a record of history.

Largusa states, “I am present mark by mark, but as the painting comes to a close my presence dissolves and the work remains as evidence of the transience of human life.”

Kamran Samimi presents "Passage," an installation

Utilizing the visual language of geometric abstraction, I am referencing a transition frozen in time. This piece represents the transitory nature of life, encouraging the viewer to be aware of the present moment. Each plane suspended in space represents a transient instant existing between its past and future: a slice of time contributing to an overall sensation of growth and decay. This mimics nature’s rhythm, with all things existing in a constant state of flux. As an invitation to pause and experience this moment in time, Passage encourages mindfulness: to be here, now.


Ticket Information
Gallery Hours: Monday - Friday 10:00 - 4:00; Sunday 12:00 - 4:00. Closed Saturdays; Jan. 18, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Admission is free. Donations are appreciated. Parking fees may apply.

Event Sponsor
Dept. of Art & Art History, College of Arts & Humanities, Manoa Campus, Mānoa Campus

More Information
Sharon Tasaka, (808) 956-6888, gallery@hawaii.edu, http://www.hawaii.edu/art/exhibitions+events/exhibitions/

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