Galleries
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kaimuki kool

Sometimes, if you want _something done, you've got to do it yourself. The newest entry on Honolulu's gallery scene is the brainchild of five of our best young artists, all of whom are featured in the inaugural show, happening now at "workspace gallery," located at the top of Wai'alae Avenue in Kaimukõ.

The partnership allows, in coming months for solo exhibitions by each of the artists, and/or opportunities for them to organize or curate shows by others.

In the opening group show, called I love workspace, each artist is represented by a small duster of works in a kind of signature statement. Printmaker Duncan Dempster's lightboxes with silhouette scenarios and minimalist graphics represent an alternative, 3D area of inquiry and frame glimpses of a wry sense of humor. (Dempster is pictured at the gallery space.)

Ari Eichelberger is back again with another batch of, well, let's call them soft sculptures --- gently weird but endearing critters which might become favorite pets (with a lot less upkeep, plus they already have names.) Eichelberger finds a kindred spirit in Kris Higa, whose "world invaders" are sock dolls in flying saucers and flying stars.

Ryan Higa continues to cultivate a kind of neo-surrealism in his elegantly perverse ink-line drawings which are the progeny of abstract anime. These single-frame images convey a strong sense of some kind of story chat we've just happened onto.

The sense of narrative is also strongly felt in the work of Cade Roster, who continues to work in a format he's made his own: carefully constructed and richly detailed assemblages which are then photographed in color.

Look for more from these new Kaimuki settlers -- risk-takers as both artists and entrepreneurs- in the months to come.

Marcia Morse

Two very different galleries, worlds apart yet fairly close in distance, have opened right next door to reasonably priced restaurants; they might be just needed for a break in your routine.

workspace

A tangerine orange sign on Waialae Avenue in Kaimuki reads "workspace". It hangs next door to Saigon Vietnamese restaurant. Up a dean flight of rubberized stairs a tangerine door allowed entry to a front room filled with an unusual collection of small-scale soft sculpt T-shirts, trinkets, books and funky souvenirs.

In the next room, the 250-square foot gallery space is exhibiting its grand-opening show, "i love workspace." This quirky world of light boxes, soft sculptures, photographs and "naughty" drawings bursts at the seams with the unexpected. The five members of workspace "are committed to their artistic practice and the shameless selfpromotion that such an endeavor demands," their press release says.

Flve belong to the humorous hui that owns and operates the gallery: Ryan Higa, Kris Higa Duncan Dempster, Ari Eichelberger and Cade Roster. Young, curious and talented artists, Dempster and the Higas met while studying art at the University of Hawai'i. Ryan Higa and Dempster are on the board of directors of the Honolulu Printmakers (where Higa will be demonstrating Japanese style woodblock printing with waterbased pigment at l p.m today at the academy arts Center). Dempster is a teacher at the University of Hawai'i.

Ryan Higa says he is inspired by the "sticky weirdness and uncomfortableness" in the "relationship dance." His blue-background drawings "tangle tango" and "doo honey doo bop," reveal his cartoonlike characters in various stages of interacting. His pink-background series, "dangling participle," is the beginning of a larger narrative in progress and feature androgynous, zipped-up bodies, nude except for their boots.

Soft sculpture is the chosen medium of both Ari Eichelberger and Kris Higa Higa has a cushiony collection of amicable "world invaders," and Eichelberger's brightly colored friends include "leon, samone, mavis and edger."

Duncan Dempster's light boxes illuminate figures in action scenes such as, "the fall" and "escapist." He applies a vinyl medium to the surface glass to intensify the color saturation. Be sure not to miss the one hung over the doorway.

Cade Roster photographs the wooden puppets that he builds and sets in lush settings in "simple syrup" and "slip up."

Nothing in the exhibit costs more than $300. Besides being affordable, this is a gallery to watch for art on the edge.

The hui has plans to curate the work of other artists. In the meantime, Cade Roster will open a solo show 6-9 p.m April 4 that will include an autograph session with special guest artists who are making spontaneous drawings. I asked Higa if this meant a psychic sort of personalized drawing thing and he said, "No, nothing that metaphysical."

Their announcement reads, "We are friendly people." They are.

workspace starts the summer off with an exhibition of new work by Duncan Dempster entitled at home with records+. In this show Dempster presents a selection of lightboxes, home furnishings, and prints that touch on sound recording, honey, and the psychogeography of place. Memories deserve their own storage units. Monuments to everyday life should double as mood lighting. Records aren't just for listening. Duncan would like gallery visitors to experience these and other solutions to common decorating problems. Upon leaving,visitors may find themselves asking if their route home needs a shelf.

The opening reception will be held on Friday, June 14, from 6 to 9 pm. There will be a walk-thru of the exhibition with the artist on Saturday, July 6 at 1pm, in conjunction with the Honolulu Printmakers.  All events are free and open to the public.