Mark Chai
Encyclopedia
Mark Chai is a Hawaiian-Chinese sculptor who shapes fine woods and recycled materials into lamps, sculpture
, large installations
and furniture
.
His lamps have been featured in the New Yorker
, House Beautiful and Home magazines and in Wallpaper* magazine’s Honolulu City Guide. Honolulu magazine named him one of Hawaii’s hottest designers.
A dozen of his lamps appeared in the Hawai‘i season of the television show, “Real World.”
Chai's "Opala (Garbage) Gone Wild" received the 3-D award in the 2007 “Commitment to Excellence” Art Exhibition, was purchased by the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts
for its Art in Public Places program, and displayed in the Hawaii State Art Museum. Made from a recycled white plastic 30 gallons (113.6 l) barrel, it is a commentary on our overflowing landfills. "Hea Aku i Ka Makani" (Call to the Winds) an 8 feet (2.4 m) by 6 feet (1.8 m) suspended whirlwind of recycled plastic was shown at the Hawai'i State Art Museum's Hi'iakaikapoliopele show, along with "Hi'iaka's Skirt Becomes a Surfboard for Lohiau," an anthropomorphic surfboard made of recycled plastic that was purchased by the state for its permanent collection.
His custom lamps light the Downtown Cafe at the Hawaii State Art Museum
and Art After Dark at the Honolulu Academy of Arts
.
Chai says he was inspired to make lamps because, "I wanted to interact with the viewer. What better way than to turn something on?" His lamps have been described as "cutting edge hanging lamps of intricate interlocking pieces of cut and finished plywood. The effect is origami in thin air with distinctive Hawaii touches."
He received his BFA from the University of Hawaii
, Manoa, in 1976, and is married to author Makana Risser Chai
.
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
, large installations
Installation art
Installation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called Land art; however, the boundaries between...
and furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
.
His lamps have been featured in the New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, House Beautiful and Home magazines and in Wallpaper* magazine’s Honolulu City Guide. Honolulu magazine named him one of Hawaii’s hottest designers.
A dozen of his lamps appeared in the Hawai‘i season of the television show, “Real World.”
Chai's "Opala (Garbage) Gone Wild" received the 3-D award in the 2007 “Commitment to Excellence” Art Exhibition, was purchased by the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts
Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts
The Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts was established by the Hawaii State Legislature in 1965 to “promote, perpetuate, preserve, and encourage culture and the arts, history and the humanities as central to the quality of life of the people of Hawaii”...
for its Art in Public Places program, and displayed in the Hawaii State Art Museum. Made from a recycled white plastic 30 gallons (113.6 l) barrel, it is a commentary on our overflowing landfills. "Hea Aku i Ka Makani" (Call to the Winds) an 8 feet (2.4 m) by 6 feet (1.8 m) suspended whirlwind of recycled plastic was shown at the Hawai'i State Art Museum's Hi'iakaikapoliopele show, along with "Hi'iaka's Skirt Becomes a Surfboard for Lohiau," an anthropomorphic surfboard made of recycled plastic that was purchased by the state for its permanent collection.
His custom lamps light the Downtown Cafe at the Hawaii State Art Museum
Hawaii State Art Museum
The No. 1 Capitol District Building, on the site of the former Armed Services YMCA Building, now houses the Hawaii State Art Museum and the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.-History:...
and Art After Dark at the Honolulu Academy of Arts
Honolulu Academy of Arts
The Honolulu Academy of Arts is an art museum in Honolulu in the state of Hawaii. Since its founding in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke and opening April 8, 1927, its collections have grown to over 40,000 works of art.-Description:...
.
Chai says he was inspired to make lamps because, "I wanted to interact with the viewer. What better way than to turn something on?" His lamps have been described as "cutting edge hanging lamps of intricate interlocking pieces of cut and finished plywood. The effect is origami in thin air with distinctive Hawaii touches."
He received his BFA from the University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
, Manoa, in 1976, and is married to author Makana Risser Chai
Makana Risser Chai
R. Makana Risser Chai is a researcher and author of two books on Hawaiian massage or lomilomi.Na Mo'olelo Lomilomi: Traditions of Hawaiian Massage and Healing is the first book on lomilomi to be published by a major publisher...
.
External links
- http://www.MarkChaiArts.com