Recent Work by Sean K.L. Browne
October 3, 2003 - January 6, 2004

Sculptor Sean K.L. Browne draws inspiration for his work from his parents’ collection of Japanese Mingei ceramics and from Japanese potter Kawai Kanjiro’s sculptural ceramic work. Browne is influenced by his Japanese heritage as well as by his roots in Hawai‘i. He is especially intrigued by the tools and ritual elements that the Native Hawaiians used – forms such as the adz, helmet, cape and hook – and recreates these ancient forms and symbols in a contemporary way.

Browne was born in 1953 in Hilo, Hawai‘i. He received his BA degree in Sculpture in 1975 from the University of Redlands in California and his MFA degree in Sculpture in 1983 from the University of Hawai‘i—Manoa. Browne was the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship to travel to Shikoku, Japan in 1985, where he studied with master sculptor Isamu Noguchi. In 2001 Browne was named as one of Hawaii’s Living Treasures by the Honpa Hongwanji Mission.

Influenced by Michelangelo, Brancusi and Noguchi, Browne uses the permanence of stone to create archetypal symbols that redefine links to the past. His recent work attempts to interpret myths by revealing the “preciousness of childhood, where every day is sacred and magical with discovery.” Browne hopes that the contemporary viewer will share in that “magical moment of discovery” with fresh eyes, and that with the passage of time his works will continue to offer meaningful revelations to others. Although Browne works in a variety of media, he prefers to work in stone, which he defines as timeless.