EXHIBITION
Interisland: New Paintings from New York & Hawaiʻi
August 31 – December 7, 2025
The Art Gallery, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM), Art Building
The Art Gallery at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is proud to present Interisland (New Paintings from New York & Hawaiʻi) .
Interisland (New Paintings from New York & Hawaiʻi) is a survey exhibition featuring approximately 40 painters, based in New York City and in Hawaiʻi. The exhibition opens space for a visual examination of commonalities and differences in contemporary painting trends across the distant islands, geographically bracketing the U.S. The goal of the exhibition is to position two distinct sites of creative production, with their own respective creative legacies and relevant conversations, in relation to one another. Through bringing these paintings into the same space, we hope to gain a deeper understanding of the cultural temperature in this moment––a moment where our digitally and economically interlinked world is also experiencing a stronger than ever emphasis on our planet’s manifold cultural inheritances, and the related cultivation in institutional spaces of opportunities to view and discuss a wide variety of personal expressions through the convention of painting.
Interisland marks the ten-year anniversary of New New York: Abstract Painting in the 21st Century, curated by Liam Davis and Debra Drexler, when Jan Dickey was an MFA student in painting at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. This exhibition is a reimagined sequel to New New York, geared towards the pertinent conversations of 2025, curated by Davis, Dickey and Drexler. Featured here are a spectrum between representational and nonrepresentational paintings spawned from an array of perspectives, philosophies of art/life, and socio-political outlooks from positions on opposite sides of the earth. We invite you to find connections and critically consider the relevance of seeing this large collection of new paintings.
–Liam Davis, Jan Dickey and Debra Drexler, Curators
Hawaiʻi Artists:
Cody Anderson, Hunter Buck, Florani Camacho, Lauren Hana Chai, Melissa Michelle Chimera, Sally French, Simone Fromen, Cyan Garma, Carl Jennings, John Koga, Wendy Kawabata, Al Lagunero, Hal Lum, Meleanna Meyer, Noreen Naughton, Nainoa Rosehill, Russell Sunabe, Cory Kamehanaokalā Holt Taum, William Williams, Joseph Wilson, and Mark Yoshizumi.
New York Artists:
Kiko Bordeos, Joseph Brock, Yen Yen Chou, Elisabeth Condon, Peggy Cyphers, Heather Drayzen, David Dupuis, John Andrew Fleming, Rico Gatson, Clare Grill, Raymond Hwang, Alex Kanevsky, Claudia Keep, Eleen Lin, Stephen Maine, Lucas Moran, Anthony Reamer, Jenna Ransom, Patrick Todd, Eric Uhlir, and Charles Yuen.
Organization
Thank you to the Curators: Liam Davis, Curator, Artifact Projects, New York, NY; Jan Dickey, Gallery Associate, Morgan Lehman Gallery; New York, and Debra Drexler, Professor of Drawing and Painting, and Interim Director of the Galleries and Museum, UHM. Thanks to the staff of the University Galleries and the John Young Museum of Art, John Szostak, Upcoming Interim Director, Sheika Alghezawi, Assistant Director, Kainoa Gruspe, Exhibition Coordinator, Mia Zheng, Curatorial Graduate Assistant, and Dylan Gomez, Installation Graduate Assistant.
Opening Reception
Date: August 31, 2025, Sunday, 2:00–4:00 PM
Location: The ART Building
THE ART GALLERY is located at 2535 McCarthy Mall, Rm 141, Honolulu, HI 96822.
Gallery hours and admission
Tuesday – Friday & Sunday 12 – 4 p.m.
Closed Saturdays, Mondays, spring break (March 17-22), and state holidays.
Free admission. Donations are appreciated.
Parking fees may apply during weekdays. Parking is free on Sundays
For more information please contact Sheika Alghezawi at 808.956.8364 and gallery@hawaii.eduTEXT