Kahilu Exhibits at Kahilu Theatre is proud to present solo exhibitions by Hawaiʻi Island based artists Patrick O’Kiersey and Rachel Orr. O’Kiersey’s exhibition, A Guest on the ʻĀina, will feature monumentally scaled abstract paintings in Kahilu’s Hāmākua Gallery, while Orr’s mixed-media paintings will be featured in States of Altered Being inside Kahilu’s Simperman Gallery. The exhibits open with a public reception on Wednesday, February 8 from 5:00 – 6:30 PM and will remain on display through April 9, 2023.

Patrick O’Kiersey has lived in ʻĀhualoa since 2005, and considers himself very fortunate to be a guest residing permanently here on the island of Hawaiʻi. O’Kiersey is an accomplished painter in the tradition of Abstract Expressionism, having completed his Master of Fine Arts degree at Mills College (Oakland, CA) in 1985. Inspired by the textures, colors, and shapes of the natural world, O’Kiersey is interested in using paint and the process of painting to interpret the feelings and ideas envoked by the beauty and intrigue of the world around him.

OʻKiersey explains: “When I begin a painting in the studio, I do not start with an image. Meditations would be closer to the mark. Throughout the painting process I follow intuitions. I watch to see what the painting suggests. I feel that this is the best way to reflect meanings and manifold beauties of the Big Island.”

Rachel Orr is a mostly self-taught artist who has lived in Kalapana since 2018. Over the past couple of years, Orr has been developing techniques that freeze the decomposition of natural materials using latex paint. In the process, she shapes and models tree bark, fallen palm fronds, and plant root systems to build three dimensional surfaces to paint upon. The resulting artwork alters the state of the materials, and forms the basis of her art practice.

Orr elaborates: “In my creative process, I am working in cooperation with my environment by utilizing found material. I honor the natural integrity of the material and intuit the way it guides my composition. Through the repurposing process, my medium maintains its core structure yet becomes changed in its condition of existence.”

Kahilu Exhibits’ Gallery Director, Andy Behrle, sees the combination of the talents of these two artists as a excellent pairing. “Although Patrick and Rachel have very different backgrounds and work in very different ways, their artworks share complexities of texture, process, and content. I am particularly taken by the heightened sensibility each present in their appreciation for the opportunity to live here and translate their experiences of living here into dynamic visual artworks.”