Hal Lum and Nanea Lum in Conversation

September 16 – October 7, 2023 

Opening
Saturday September 16th 6–8pm

Hours
Wednesdays 11–3pm
Fridays 3–7pm
Saturdays 11–3pm

Aupuni Space is pleased to present a two-person exhibition by Hal Lum and Nanea Lum, two artists of Hawai‘i who happen to share a medium and a last name. Built over several months of shared studio visits, conversations, and experimental exercises, this exhibition highlights historical works alongside newly commissioned works from both artists. Side by side, these paintings on canvas, paper, and wood are given the opportunity to complement each other and draw out each artist’s specific histories in unexpected ways, shifting playfully in time and style.











Hal Lum is a dedicated, prolific, explorative mark-maker born and raised in Hawaii. He earned his BFA (1967) from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and MFA (1970) from California State University. His distinctive works on paper have earned him the quiet respect and admiration of his artist peers in Honolulu, as well as in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York, where he lived throughout the 70s and 80s. His work is both whimsical and serious; a continual and consistent study in symbols, art historical references, color, and composition. He has recently exhibited at Bās Bookshop and Aupuni Space.

Nanea Lum is a Native Hawaiian artist whose practice shifts between formal painting studies and embodied cultural research. She earned her BFA (2014) and MFA (2021) from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Nanea works with community organizations in Hawai‘i producing projects and building networks relating Hawaiian learning pathways with ‘āina. She has recently exhibited at East Hawaiʻi Cultural Center (Hilo, HI), NADA New York and NADA Miami, and ʻAi Pōhaku (ʻOahu).