LIHU‘E — The Chinese New Year begins Feb. 3, bringing the Year of the Rabbit, but the Kaua‘i Museum is already setting stage for the celebrations. Waihang Lai, Professor Emeritus of Art, Community Colleges, University of Hawai‘i, was helping students
LIHU‘E — The Chinese New Year begins Feb. 3, bringing the Year of the Rabbit, but the Kaua‘i Museum is already setting stage for the celebrations.
Waihang Lai, Professor Emeritus of Art, Community Colleges, University of Hawai‘i, was helping students to hang artwork for “An Exhibition of Watercolor,” scheduled to open Thursday at the Kaua‘i Museum Main Gallery. The exhibit is supposed to run through March 17 .
This is the first time visiting-artist exhibits will be shown on the main floor, said Lyah Drake, Kaua‘i Museum Education and Art coordinator.
Prior visiting-exhibits had been displayed at the museum’s Mezzanine Gallery or at the upstairs display area.
Drake said the move is part of the ongoing changes at Kaua‘i Museum, partially coinciding with the museum’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
In addition to the guest display moving downstairs, the main entrance to the museum has been relocated to the side closest to Elua Street, or the historic County Building. In the past, guests would enter the museum through the doorway near the post office.
The watercolor exhibit will not be the only one occupying the main floor. Drake said another portion of the floor is being dedicated to Chris Faye’s exhibit on “White Fire,” the first film done on Kaua‘i.
Drake said the changes increased the area for the museum’s gift shop, a popular stop for visitors.
“We’re now overflowing onto the main floor,” said Leroy Lagmay, the museum’s marketing manager. “Visitors now enter the museum and can flow through the area where the original gift shop was, ending at the checkout which is now located on the main floor.”
Lagmay said this additional floor space allows for better displays and more offerings from the typical 90 percent-plus Kaua‘i-made artisans.
Lai, retiring from Kaua‘i Community College after 34 years of teaching, is presenting the works of nine students at the watercolor exhibition.
The retired art instructor, earning the University of Hawai‘i Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching in 1992, is known for his watercolor, Chinese painting, and computer art.
Lai’s style of paintings are of nature with muted colors, creating intricate composition, states a press release on the exhibit.
The lushness of the colors gently merge into each another to create a soft, calming ambiance which is characteristic of Lai’s artistry, creating paintings with unusual geometric shapes through the extensive use of layers of transparent colors to express depth and perception.
Participants of the exhibit include Lai, Alvin Uchida, Valeri Miller, Sonoko Kinoshita, Beverly Newbury, Sharon Sakamoto, Emma Rogers, Sharon Paik, and Vanna Wu.
The opening reception for “An Exhibition of Watercolor” is Thursday, from 5:30-7:30 p.m., when artists will be present.
Go to www.kauaimuseum.org or call 245-6931 for more information.
