UH Hilo to host trio of visiting artists

The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Art Department’s Visiting Artist Program is presenting a series of lectures and panel discussions with a trio of visiting artists at various locations throughout East Hawaiʻi October 26 -30. The events are free and open to the public.

Althea Murphy-Price is an assistant professor of printmaking at the Indiana University Bloomington School of Fine Arts. Her printmaking has been showcased in several galleries around the nation, including Artforms Gallery in Philadelphia, where she was awarded first prize in 2004 in the annual Emerging Artist Exhibition, Artspace Gallery in Richmond, Va., the Print Center Gallery of Philadelphia and the Art Consortium of Cincinnati.

Murphy-Price’s work explores how identity is defined within culture and community while questioning self-identification amongst the perceptions of society. Her latest printmaking work explores the various cultural associations, oddities and self-defining characteristics of hair.

Charles Yuen is a recent recipient of a Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant, and resides and paints in New York City. His one-person exhibitions in New York have been displayed at Elizabeth Harris Gallery, Art in General, Metaphor Contemporary Art, Leo Tony Gallery, and the Asian American Arts Center.

Reviews of his work have appeared in numerous publications, including Art in America, the New York Times, Time Out, and Art Papers. The Hawaiʻi-born Yuen cites his place of birth and mixed Chinese and Japanese ethnic background as important influences.

Chris Churchill moved to the Island of Hawai’i from Ojai, California in his late teens and attended UH Hilo, where he studied painting and printmaking. As an undergraduate, Churchill presented solo exhibitions of paintings, drawings, and prints at the East Hawai’i Cultural Center and Campus Center Gallery, participated in juried regional and international exhibitions, and earned a State Foundation on Culture and the Arts Purchase Award.

Churchill graduated from UH Hilo in 2000 and completed his graduate art degree at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, Michigan, in 2003 and moved to New York City later that year. His paintings have been featured in solo exhibitions at the Franklin Parrasch Gallery in 2007 and this past June. Churchill has also served as curator for exhibitions at the Franklin Parrasch Gallery featuring artists that included Philip Guston and Arshile Gorky and KAWS.

Visiting Artist Program activities will include slide lecture presentation in UCB 127 on Tuesday, October 27 at 2 p.m. and the Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village on Thursday, October 29 at 7 p.m., an opening reception from 2-5 p.m., Wednesday, October 28 at the idspace Gallery in Kurtistown where the artists’ works are on display until November, and an Artist -In-Residence panel discussion at 2 p.m. on Friday, October 30 at the UH Hilo Art Department Gallery.

The UH Hilo Art Department’s Visiting Artist Program invites nationally and internationally recognized artists to Hilo to inspire artists, residents, students, and educators through lectures, exhibitions, and workshops. The program is made possible through grant funding from the Laila Art Fund of the Hawai’i Community Foundation, with support from the UH Hilo Student Activities Council. For additional information, contact Professor Wayne Miyamoto at (808) 974- 7307 or email wmiyamot@hawaii.edu.