Waikiki Parc Features Momoe Nakajima

June 8, 2017 - September 14, 2017
Waikiki Parc Hotel, 2233 Helumoa Road, Waikiki

Momoe Nakajima’s sculptures are highlighted as part of an expanded arts partnership of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM), the Halekulani and its sister hotel, the Waikiki Parc.

Momoe Nakajima, a Hawai‘i-based artist, is inspired by her connections to Japan and Hawai‘i. She states, “As the saying goes, ‘Home is where the heart is.’ Being born in Japan, yet raised in Hawai‘i, this sentiment holds special relevance. The distance between me and my Japanese heritage has grown, and while at times I experienced feelings of rootlessness, I’ve come to identify Hawai‘i as my home.”

Her recent works include several pairs of a ceramic figure and a jar. The jar accompanies and grounds the figure while providing guidance like an "‘aumakua," a Hawaiian personal or family god. Each pair reflects its bond through matching surface designs that feature plants and flowers from Japan and Hawai‘i. For Nakajima, they represent home, old and new, and past and present, as she continues to explore and define where she belongs.

Nakajima, the recipient of a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Department of Art + Art History, UHM (2017), concurrently attended both UHM and Windward Community College (WCC). Since 2014 she has held two art-related jobs at WCC—kiln and glaze technician at the ceramics studio and exhibition installation assistant at Gallery ‘Iolani.

In 2017 Nakajima was honored with the UHM Ceramic Faculty Book award. Her artwork has been presented at The Art Gallery, UHM, in "SYSTEMS: 2017 Bachelor of Fine Arts Exhibition;" and at Gallery ‘Iolani, WCC, in "Confluence 4," (2016); "Ka Waiwai Mohala," (2014); and "Confluence 3," (2011).

On June 8, Guitarist Christopher Hopper will provide music at the opening reception in this series of up-and-coming young artists’ exhibitions at the Waikiki Parc. In 2016, he received a Bachelor of Music degree in performance from the Department of Music, UH Mānoa. He has also studied with guitar virtuosos Carlos Barbosa Lima, and the Brazilian Guitar Duo’s Douglas Lora and João Luiz.

http://www.hawaii.edu/art/exhibitions+events/exhibitions/?p=3118

SPONSORS: University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Department of Art + Art History, College of Arts + Humanities, and Waikiki Parc Hotel – Hospitality Sponsor for the Arts at UH Mānoa

Image: "Put Down Roots (Chrysanthemum x Monstera)," 2017

stoneware

dimensions vary

Photographer: Chris Rohrer

Courtesy of the artist.


Ticket Information
Daily operational hours of the hotel. Admission is free. Complimentary parking with hotel validation.

Event Sponsor
Art + Art History, Mānoa Campus

More Information
Sharon Tasaka, 808-956-8364, gallery@hawaii.edu, http://www.hawaii.edu/art/exhibitions+events/exhibitions/?p=3118

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