Capitol Modern

The Capitol Modern Museum, formerly (until 2023) named the Hawaii State Art Museum, is a small art gallery located on the second floor of the No. 1 Capitol District Building in downtown Honolulu, Hawaii, United States.^[1] Long known as HiSAM, the museum is operated by the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.

Capitol Modern, No. 1 Capitol District Building (2011)

Background

The Hawaii State Art Museum first opened on November 1, 2002.^[2]

Current exhibits

The museum has temporary exhibitions, as well as a permanent display of Hawaiian art featuring a mix of Hawaii's ethnic and cultural traditions through 132 works of art by 105 artists.^[3]

Predominately comprising works dating from the 1960s to the present, the exhibition depicts the expression of artists throughout the state and their profound contributions toward understanding the people of Hawaii and their aspirations.

Critical reception

When HiSAM first opened, art critic Amaury Saint-Gilles wrote that the debut collection was "an intriguing melange of island art history weaving a full-colored tapestry".^[4]

Notable artists

• Sculptor Satoru Abe (born 1926)
• Sculptor Bumpei Akaji (1921–2002)
• Sculptor Sean K. L. Browne (born 1953)
• Sculptor Edward M. Brownlee (1929–2013)
• Mark Chai (born 1954)
• Jean Charlot (1898–1979)
• Isami Doi (1883–1931)
• Juliette May Fraser (1887–1983)
• Hon Chew Hee (1906–1993)
• Ceramicist Jun Kaneko (born 1942)
• John Melville Kelly (1877–1962)
• Sueko Matsueda Kimura (1912–2001)
• Ceramicist Sally Fletcher–Murchison (born 1933)
• Printmaker Huc-Mazelet Luquiens (1881–1961)
• Ceramicist David Kuraoka (born 1946)
• Ben Norris (1910–2006)
• Louis Pohl (1915–1999)
• Sculptor Esther Shimazu (born 1957)
• Shirley Ximena Hopper Russell (1886–1985)
• Tadashi Sato (1954–2005)
• Reuben Tam (1916–1991)
• Ceramicist Toshiko Takaezu (1922–2011)
• Masami Teraoka (born 1936)
• Madge Tennent (1889–1972)
• Sculptor Michael Tom (1946–1999)