You're Invited to the Art Walk
Ala Moana Center's multi-million dollar art collection reflects the immense beauty and cultural diversity of Hawai‘i. View the images below for more information on each piece and the renowned artist behind it. View our full Art Walk map.
Located: Mall Level 2, Ewa Wing, near Nordstrom
Curated by: Kelly Sueda
Dedicated: 2016
Description:
This bronze water sculpture standing at 8 feet tall was designed by the son of George Tsutakawa, the artist responsible for Waiola, art work located near Macy’s and anchoring the opposite end of the Center. Kia‘i, which can be translated to “the guardian,” draws from many rich cultures and themes and was specifically commissioned for Ala Moana Center. The wide top, taper and jagged edges evoke the shape of a Polynesian war club while the zig zags are reminiscent of the folded paper ornamentation of good fortune and purification seen at Japanese shrines. The divided base legs and circle also symbolize a spirit image.
About the Artist:
Son of artist George Tsutakawa who created Waiola, Gerard Tsutakawa followed in his father’s footsteps and has made a name for himself as an accomplished sculptor. A studio apprentice for his artist father for 20 years, Gerard created his first commissioned work in 1976. In the same studio where his father worked, he continues to design and fabricate anything from small studio bronze pieces to large public art fountains and sculptures.
Located: Mall Level 2, Ewa Wing, near Bloomingdale's
Curated by: Kelly Sueda
Dedicated: 2016
Description:
Although the pumpkin is often overlooked as artistic subject matter, it has long been a source of inspiration for Yayoi Kusama. During WWII, pumpkins served as a means of substance and comfort for the artist and her family. Kusama prizes its unpretentious, yet generous nature which for her even attains a spiritual quality. Her deep regard for the pumpkin is conveyed by the monumentality of this bronze work standing 6 feet high and weighing more than 1,200 pounds.
About the Artist:
Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese artist and writer. Throughout her career she has worked in a wide variety of media, including painting, collage, sculpture, performance art and environmental installations, most of which exhibit her thematic interest in psychedelic colors, repetition and pattern. A precursor of the pop art, minimalist and feminist art movements, Kusama influenced contemporaries such as Andy Warhol and Claes Oldenburg. Although largely forgotten after departing the New York art scene in the early 1970s, Kusama is now acknowledged as one of the most important living artists to come out of Japan, and an important voice of the avant-garde.
Located: Mall Level 2, Ewa Wing
Dedicated: 2015
Description:
These two vibrant mosaics are composed of more than 240,000 hand-placed glass tiles and cover more than 246 sq. ft. of space combined. Inspired by the beauty, color, texture and environment in Hawaii, Ke Aloha O Ka ‘Āina depicts some of the flora and fauna found in the islands in a bright and colorful palette.
About the Artists:
Sisters Aashika & Tanishaa Cunha transform the craft of mosaic into unique artworks. They use vibrant, hand-cut, vitreous tiles, turning them around to add texture and vitality. Aashika completed her Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts from LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore in 2012 and is currently employed at the Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation at the Prince of Wales Museum in Mumbai. Tanishaa is currently undergoing her undergraduate program in Design at Goldsmiths College in London.
Located: Mall Level 2, Ewa Wing, near Moncler
Dedicated: 1966
Description:
Bumpei Akaji’s work “Manu Lewalani” or Birds Aloft, features a large flock of stylized bronze sea birds taking flight from a pond. Manu Lewalani represents the faith of Walter F. Dillingham, who in 1912, purchased the marsh of rice and taro patches on which the Ala Moana Center now stands. This work was originally dedicated in 1966 by Hawaii artist Bumpei Akaji, in memory of Walter and Louise Dillingham, whose dream to preserve and enhance the beauty of all Hawaii are now part of our heritage.
About the Artist:
Bumpei Akaji was born on Kauai in 1921. In 1943 he joined the United States Army and was sent to Italy where he was inspired by the artwork. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence and at the Academia de Belle Arti, Brera in Milan. In 1950, he returned to Honolulu and in 1951 received a Master of Fine Arts in painting from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Akaji learned welding from a local mechanic and is now best known for his large-scale welded copper and brass sculptures, which are both organic and abstract in nature. The welded and/or pounded surfaces of his sculptures are often warm and sensual and over time develop a unique patina.
Located: Mall Level 2, Diamond Head Wing near Bulgari
Curated by: Kelly Sueda
Dedicated: 2016
Description:
These three diamond shaped forms originally contained text written with broad brush strokes from the artist’s hand which read: "The words form cages but the letters are open windows through which meaning escapes." The negative space between the letters was cut away leaving a pierced form whose sense of volume is belied by its transparency. After firing and glazing, the text is largely illegible but retains the memory and rhythms of handwriting. The glaze is a high metallic bronze color with the variations and artifices of bronze cast metal.
About the Artist:
Stephen Freedman's abstract ceramic sculptures have been widely commissioned and exhibited both at international and national galleries. His sculptures have been featured in over 100 exhibitions since 1983 and now reside in many public, private and museum collections including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, West Australian Museum of Art and The Getty Museum. Stephen Freedman is also the chief editor of HI ART Magazine, Hawaii's contemporary art publication.
Located: Mall Level 2, Center Court
Dedicated: 1966
Description:
Wrought from bronze and steel, this piece was originally designed not for visual effect but for tactical purpose and was placed in a sandbox meant for exploration. It was intended to be appreciated not just with the eyes, but felt as well.
About the Artist:
Brownlee is known for his modernist architectural creations. He joined the Army after three years of high school and was stationed overseas in occupied Japan working as a topographer. Brownlee received his formal education at Oregon State University and at the California College of Arts and Crafts. In 1954, he became the first recipient of a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Hawaii. The Hawaii chapter of the American Institute of Architects recognized Brownlee with a special award for "outstanding contributions of art to architecture".
Located: Street Level 1, Diamond Head Wing near Assaggio
Dedicated: 1966
Description:
George Tsutakawa’s Waiola, Hawaiian for “Living Waters,” honors the many cultures of the Pacific Basin living harmoniously in Hawaii. The structure of the statue stems from the Tibetan Obos, expressing the joy, humility and man’s desire for harmonic balance between space and matter.
About the Artist:
Tsutakawa is a sculptor and painter best known for some sixty public fountains created and installed in North America and Japan since 1960. Tsutakawa served on the faculty of the UW School of Art from 1947 until his retirement in 1976. Perhaps as much as for his body of artistic works, Tsutakawa is beloved as a "treasure of the Pacific Northwest" for the contributions he and his family have made over the years to the cultural life of the region.