An Exhibition of Hawaii Artists

March 19-June 21, 2009

TCM had its origins in The Honolulu Advertiser Gallery (later Contemporary Arts Center of Hawai'i), which opened in October 1961 in the News Building. The gallery was the initiative of Thurston Twigg-Smith, then general manager of The Honolulu Advertiser, who recognized the need for a space dedicated to exhibitions of works by Hawai'i's contemporary artists. As the institution formalized, developed, and expanded over the years, The Honolulu Advertiser Gallery/Contemporary Arts Center became The Contemporary Museum, opening in a new home in the Cooke-Spalding estate in Makiki Heights in October 1988.

20 Going on 21 is one of a number of special programs in 2009 celebrating TCM's 20th anniversary. TCM invited past TCM Biennial invited artists (52 from eight Biennials) to each nominate up to five contemporary Hawai'i artists who they feel are accomplished or emerging, to be considered for the exhibition (fellow Biennial artists were not eligible to be nominated).

The nominees were invited to submit examples of their work to be juried by a pane ofthree individuals: Melissa Chiu, Gallery Director and Vice-President for Global Art Programs at the Asia Society in New York; Lawrence Rinder, Director of the University Art Museum, Berkeley, California; and Joseph Havel, artist and Director of the Glassell School of Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas.The jurors met and selected 20 artists to be included in the exhibition. Following the selection of the artists by the jury, TCM's Deputy Director of Exhibitions and Collections James Jensen and Exhibitions Curator Inger Tully visited the artists to select the works to be presented in the exhibition. In addition, they selected one additional or 21st artist to be included.

The artists selected include Derek Bencomo, Andrew Binkley, Dana Forsberg, Karen Gally, Jaisy Hanlon, Keiko Hatano, Vince Hazen, Lynda Hess, Ryan Higa, Corinne Kamiya, Sanit Khewhok, Jeeun Kim, Mat Kubo, Stephan Lang, Hal Lum, Mark Maresca, Tom Sewell, Bruna Stude, Lynne Yamamoto, Charles Yuen, and Wayne Miyamoto.

This exhibition is sponsored by a special hui of supporters organized by Timothy Y. C. Choy, Ph.D. The hui includes: LeBurta Atherton, The Bainum Foundation, Diane Chen KW and Jan Koch-Weser, Timothy Y. C. Choy, Kay and Tom Dunton, Elizabeth and Richard Grossman, Randolph G. Moore and Lynne Johnson, Carol and Malcom Koga, Jim and Lynn Lally, Violet Loo, Maria O'Reilly, Michael and Trish O'Neill, Judy Pyle and Wayne Pitluck, Joanna Sullivan, and Betty and Robert Ching Wo.

The exhibition has also been supported in part by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and with in-kind support by Sony Hawaii and the Waikiki Parc Hotel.

A catalogue will be published by TCM in conjunction with the exhibition and will be available for purchase in the TCM Museum Shop.