Volcano Art Center announces “Anuenue,” a fine-art exhibition featuring silk paintings and scarves by Clytie Mead and glass by Hugh Jenkins and Stephanie Ross.
The exhibit is open to the public and will continue through May 14 at the VAC Gallery in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
Anuenue is the Hawaiian word for rainbow. To many Hawaiians, the anuenue is the sign of an alii being near.
The exhibit reflects upon the abundant spectrum of colors within Hawaii’s frequent anuenue and its many varying landscapes.
The artists have focused on the colors presented within the life-giving blend of the sun and rain, while exploring very diverse media.
“Hugh Jenkins and Stephanie Ross explore rich pigments added to their glass vessels while Clytie Mead paints with colored dyes on silk, a much softer palette,” says Emily C. Weiss of Volcano Art Center Gallery. “The combination directly reflects our varying anuenue, sometimes so bold you can’t miss it, while other times so subtle they are hard to see.”
Jenkins and Ross, a husband and wife team, also operate Big Island Glass and Art Gallery in the old sugar plantation town of Honokaa. Together they have blown glass since 1996, collaborating on highly colored vessels.
“We are inspired by the colors in nature and of the places where we have experienced rainbows,” the couple said of their exhibit pieces. “Through a range of views and colors schemes, we hope to share our admiration for the joy that nature provides.”
Award-winning artist Mead received a bachelor of fine art in painting from Carnegie Mellon University and a master’s of art in architectural history from Cornell. Mead works in a number of media, including traditional watercolor, however, watercolor on silk is her favorite.
This Asian technique combines with a western artistic vocabulary to form the style she is best known for. Inspired by the abundant beauty of the tropical paradise she lives in, Mead paints flowers and indigenous plants. Some designs incorporate birds, butterflies and even land snails.
“I have painted a series of lehuas to bring awareness to the plight of this flower that is so important in the Hawaiian culture,” Mead says, referring to rapid ohia death.
Mead lives and works in the rural community of Ahualoa with her husband.
For more information about the Volcano Art Center, visit www.volcanoartcenter.org.
