Faculty Exhibition Series Part 2
November 1 – December 1, 2023
THE COMMONS GALLERY, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
The Commons Gallery, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, is pleased to present its Faculty Exhibition Series Part 2, a platform showcasing the talents of exceptional artist educators who redefine the boundaries of creativity and expression. These artists challenge conventions and offer a journey into contemporary art and social commentary through a broad range of material approaches including video documentary, fiber arts, graphic design with wax seals, digital prints, and 3D printed ceramics.
Artists
Mary K. Babcock, Scott Groeniger, Chae Ho Lee, Shawn Spangler, and Yola Monakhov Stockton.
Artist Bios
Mary K. Babcock received her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Arizona and PhD in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a visual and performance artist deeply interested in the intersection of art, contemplation, and social activism. Mending is a central theme in her work, both as actual reparative action, and as metaphor for personal, social and environmental change. Her work is driven by a need to understand and critique her culture, and rooted in the desire to bridge two prevailing paradigms for art-making: art as beauty and art social criticism. She has performed and exhibited work in individual and collaborative contexts nationally and internationally including Korea, Japan, Australia, the Philippines, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, the Ukraine, Cyprus, Algeria and Niger and is in private and private collections including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Mary K. Babcock is currently a Professor of Sculpture and Expanded Practices at the University of Hawaiʻi in Mānoa.
Scott Groeniger is a multimedia artist working in a range of media including printmaking, sound design, drawing, photography, and video. His visual artwork focuses on several major themes: the drawing of fictional maps referencing the recent discoveries of earth-like planets, long-term generational space exploration, off-Earth architecture, methods of transoceanic navigation, the future of human life on other planets, and the extinction of humans on their current home planet, Earth. Much of his work also visualizes future designs and development of collective off-world colonies as humans begin to migrate to off-Earth living environments. The maps he renders reference the works of early cartographers, and he makes hybrid prints that combine traditional materials with digital technologies. His recent exhibitions/performances include the compilation album Drones for Peace, released by Colorado Modular Synth Society, Sound Design Live, Bas Bookshop and Gallery, Honolulu, HI, Bitfactory Gallery, Denver, CO, SITE: Brooklyn Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, Niza Knoll Gallery, Denver, CO, Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, CT, Czong Institute for Contemporary Art, Gimpo, South Korea, Lawrence Arts Center, Lawrence KS, Target Gallery, Torpedo Factory, Alexandria, VA, Galerie 103, Kauai, HI, White Box Gallery, Brisbane, Australia, Pacific Rim International Print Exhibition, Christchurch, New Zealand, Boston Printmakers North American Print Biennial, 808 Gallery at Boston University, Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, Grand Rapids, MI, the Residence Gallery, London, UK, AC [Chapel] Gallery, New York, NY, Beijing Studio Center Gallery, Beijing, PRC, and Open Source Gallery, Brooklyn, NY. He is the co-founder of the experimental printmaking collective known as the Lithopixel Refactory Collective. Groeniger is also performing under Moniker Elasticlimit as a sound designer and modular synth artist. Scott Groeniger is currently a Professor of Digital Imaging, Print Media Area Chair, and Graduate Chair in the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Hawaiʻi in Mānoa.
Chae Ho Lee earned his Master of Fine Arts at Rhode Island School of Design with Honors. His impressive work spans advertising, exhibition, identity, lettering, publication, and UX/UI design. He has worked for a number of prestigious advertising agencies and design studios in the Pacific Rim, New York City, and Dubai. He has lived in the Middle East for over 6 years teaching and directing design programs at several leading academic institutions in the region. He has exhibited his work internationally and published extensively in several leading design journals and publications. Lee was awarded the university’s Regents’ Medal for excellence in teaching in 2011. His clients have included: Hawai‘i State Department of Health, Ka Makana Ali‘i, Maximum Fun, Nella Media, (Flux Magazine), Pacific Basin Publishers, (Honolulu Magazine), Springer Books, The Walt Disney Company (i.e., ABC, ESPN, Marvel, etc.) and the Washington Post to name a few. Chae Ho Lee is currently a Professor at the University of Hawaiʻi in Mānoa teaching topics in studio, typography, special topics, and production techniques.
Shawn Spangler a native Pennsylvanian who holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. He is a ceramic artist currently living and working in Oahu, Hawaii. Spangler’s work draws inspiration from historical artifacts, design, and digital technology. He is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics, he is along a founding member of a co-op educational/gallery site called Objective Clay. His projects raise questions concerning authorship and commoditization of objects while highlighting the connections and margins between digital and analog processes. He has exhibited and taught at numerous art centers, colleges, and universities internationally. His wheel-thrown porcelain forms can be complex, yet articulated, oftentimes created through the combination of multiple parts. The forms are reminiscent of both Koryo dynasty and Song dynasty, examples he observed through numerous trips to Asia and as a resident artist in China. He states, “My work is an amalgamated map of the world I reflect upon. Producing vessels is a kind of play; a regenerative act ripe with reverence, revealing the human hands enduring connection to creativity. It guides us through stories of our past remaining as a cultural signifier to help us locate where we once were and where we are going.” Shawn Spangler is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Hawaiʻi in Mānoa.
Yola Monakhov Stockton is an interdisciplinary artist who earned both her Master of Arts and Master of Fine Arts at Columbia University and her Bachelor of Arts at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her work engages in photography, film, and media that depict inspirational themes of ecology and land restorations. Noteworthy works of hers are displayed in many permanent exhibitions at the George Eastman Museum, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Smith College Museum of Art, JP Morgan Chase, and Fidelity Investments. Along with these permanent collections she has had many notable works that have been showcased in numerous national and international exhibitions. She has worked in photographic reportage in global conflict zones, and as a culture beat photographer for The New Yorker. She was a Harnish Visiting Artist at Smith College, director of Photography and Documentary Studies at Buffalo State. Yola Monakhov Stockton is currently an Assistant Professor of Photography at the University of Hawaiʻi in Mānoa.
Curated by Sheika Alghezawi, Assistant Director, John Young Museum of Art and University Galleries.
Sponsors
This exhibition is made possible by University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s Department of Art + Art History and College of Arts, Languages & Letters; supported by the Halekulani Hotel– Hospitality Sponsor for the Arts at UH Mānoa; the State Foundation for Culture and the Arts; and anonymous donors. Special thanks to The Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.
THE COMMONS GALLERY is located on the ground floor of The Art Building. From Dole Street, take East-West Road, turn left to Correa Road, and then turn right for the Art Building.
Hours & Admission
Tuesday–Friday, & Sunday, 12–4 p.m.
Closed Mondays, Saturday, school breaks, and state holidays.
Free admission. Donations are appreciated.
Parking is free on Sundays. Parking fees may apply during weekdays.
For more information, please contact 808.956.6888 and gallery@hawaii.edu