Viewpoints: Paintings by Kirk Kurokawa
February 9, 2006 - May 29, 2007

Maui painter Kirk Kurokawa is known for his keen ability to capture a person’s likeness, but that is not all he is able to capture. While his background is in illustration, Kurokawa goes deeper than the physical surface and is able to tell stories about the people he paints, revealing a sense of their inner selves. His subjects are often a reflection of his home, the island of Maui. Kurokawa is pleased that his portraits preserve for the future the appearance as well as his perception of the personalities and character of his sitters, most of whom he knows, but he also recognizes that the response to his work and its subjects is different for every viewer.

Portraiture is a way of documenting people and has been around for centuries. Their personality, character, status and environments are depicted. American illustrators, such as N.C. Wyeth, J.C. Leyendecker and Norman Rockwell, influence Kurokawa’s paintings. Not only has he been painting the “everyday” person, he also has created many self-portraits, allowing him to express himself in a realistic or idealistic way.

Kurokawa states, “The human experience inspires and drives me to master my artistic profession. It is the unique personalities that I see in people, such as the innocence of a child, that I wish to capture in my artwork.  It is during everyday, mundane activities and moments that I discover the most interesting aspects of people. There are glimpses of good, wisdom, and history being passed along in everyday lives and most of the time we miss it. In our fast-paced world of information and consumption, there are amazing things happening around us.”

Kurokawa received his BFA in illustration from California College of Arts and Crafts in 1997. He has exhibited extensively in Hawai’i and has received several awards including the Schaeffer Portrait Challenge award in 2006 for his life-size portrait of Maui painter Tadashi Sato.

Exhibitions are supported by First Hawaiian Bank and ResortQuest Hawaii, formerly Aston Hotels and Resorts