Hilo Public Library Receives Donation From Big Island Artist Henry Bianchini

Well-known Big Island artist Henry Bianchini has donated a sculpture entitled “Involuntary Journey” to the Hilo Public Library. The aluminum and stainless sculpture, rising 85″ high and 74″ wide, was featured in Bianchini’s 40-year retrospective at the East Hawaii Culture Center in 2010.

“Involuntary Journey”

The sculpture was installed free-of-charge by the artist in the Library’s atrium July 5. The Friends of the Hilo Public Library provided funding for the bronze plaque which is located next to the lanai on a stand near the Young Adult Section.

“The name of the piece means life is not controllable, rather it is a process,” said Bianchini. “Our dreams and our decisions have a life of their own. Art and the creative process are like that.”

“For many years, I had dreamed of how I could show my gratitude for this nurturing sanctuary, the Hilo Public Library,” Bianchini said. “I am honored to be able to donate this sculpture to Hilo through this library.”

Bianchini’s connection to the Library began in 1974 when he presented his first “one-man show” in the Main Lobby displaying 10 of his early paintings. He studied art from the Library’s collection, searching for a way to find a modern equivalent to ancient Hawaiian sculpture. “I found that much of the Hawaiian sculpture had been destroyed in the early takeover of the monarchy but what was left did give me insight into how advanced the Hawaiians were culturally,” Bianchini said.

Bianchini was impressed with the richness of the Library’s collection in both Western modernism and Eastern art. “This was a very big discovery for me” he said, “to find how strong the Eastern culture is here in Hawaii and how much it has affected how I see the world through my art.”

Bianchini arrived in Hilo in August 1969 with his wife Dianne and son Theo on “Island Dancer,” a self-built 30-foot trimaran. He leased a small parcel of land in Opihikou, Puna where his children – Frank and Allegra – were born and where he built his first art studio and began painting and carving Hawaiian woods in 1972. Visit Bianchini’s website at www.henrybianchiniart.com to see more of the artist’s work.

Hilo Public Library is located at 300 Waianuenue Avenue. Visit the Friends of the Hilo Public Library’s website at www.hilopubliclibrary.org to view a map of the Library’s location. For more information, please call the Library at (808) 933-8888.

Volcano Art Center Gets Elemental

Earth, water, fire, air. The natural elements are such a commonplace theme used in art, literature and especially music from the 70’s that we often overlook how they influence our daily lives.

Enter The Elemental: Setting Forth Various Elements Through Transfigurement Into Shining, a group exhibition presented at Volcano Art Center’s Rainforest Gallery at Niaulani beginning Saturday, September 29, 2012. A closing reception is scheduled for Thursday, October 25 from 4:00 to 6:00pm.

 

Tim Freeman, He ipu hō’ihi Pele #22

Instead of depicting the elements through representational or impressionistic means, works of clay, wood, metal and canvas aim to celebrate the basic dimensions of nature in a more immediate, tangible way.

 

Clayton Amemiya, Pi’ihonua, III

This unique collection features the work of artists Clayton Amemiya, Henry Bianchini, Kevin Diminyatz, Stephen Freedman, Tim Freeman, Stephen Lang, Chiu Leong, Monika Mann, Michael Marshall, William McKnight, Elizabeth Miller, Jerilee Negrillo, Alan Ohara, Susumu Sakaguchi, Randy Shiroma, Randy Takaki, Kaori Ukaji and Glenn Yamanoha.

 

Randy Shiroma, Navel of the Earth

The Elemental will be on display Saturday, September 29 until Saturday, October 27, showing Monday through Saturday from 9:00am to 4:00pm at VAC’s Rainforest Gallery at Niaulani, 19-4074 Old Volcano Road in Volcano Village. For showings outside of gallery hours, please call for an appointment at (808) 967-8222. For additional exhibit information, please visit www.volcanoartcenter.org or email info@volcanoartcenter.org.

The art show is exhibited in conjunction with a philosophy conference on the topic of “The Elemental” hosted by the Philosophy Department of the University of Hawaii at Hilo to be held September 27-29 in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. For questions related to the conference, please contact Tim Freeman at (808) 345-5231 or freeman@hawaii.edu.