Prints by Jennifer Callejo, Timothy Contreras and Keiko Kamata
October 7, 2003 - January 25, 2004

This exhibition features recent work by three Honolulu printmakers who work with the techniques of intaglio, screenprint, etching and aquatint.

Jennifer Callejo’s etchings are reminders of encounters with people whom she does not wish to forget. These meetings, although often brief and random, serve as a catalyst for her changing perceptions about her place in the world. Callejo prints from recycled plates that retain portions of an image from previous workings, thereby offering another layer of memory. Her deeply etched lines hold the black ink within the paper, producing a rich, tactile and ingrained surface.

Inspired by Hawaii’s natural environment, Timothy Contreras uses images of flowers, plants and trees in his etchings and aquatints. Through close examination of plant forms, Contreras captures a subtle beauty that the casual observer may overlook, and engages the viewer in an intimate inspection of the surprising forms found in nature.

Keiko Kamata is interested in how the mind and eye make sense of ambiguous images, such as a blurred photograph. She states: “Instead of naming and defining, the mind feels the atmosphere of the image, lingering somewhere between the familiar and the foreign…. I choose to remove myself from the constant labor of defining what is indefinite, and to be afloat in the lukewarm field of ambivalence.” The resulting abstract screenprints are compelling in their subtlety of tone and pattern.