Guardians
Guardian I in permanent art collection of Four Seasons (Wailea, Maui) and Guardian V at Kukio Country Club on Big Island of Hawaii.
The “Guardian Sculpture” is a Guardian IV, in lobby of the Dean, Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science
Organic Concepts
“Organic Concepts” solo show at Wendt Gallery, 41 East 57th Street, NYC. Opening reception April 14, 2011
Ron Kent then, now....and hint of the future. From pioneering translucent wood vessels through massive “Guardian” sculpture (and smaller derivatives). Most recent trends in apocalyptic explorations: Post-Nuclear, Volcano, and future archeological findings.
Lothar
10' tall X 24" wide X 16" deep
HJCC
SOFA
Photo Credit: Ruth Waterbury
Mystery Sneak Preview
A section...like the series...that is under construction. The prices of these vessels recognizably will be acceptable only to "serious" collectors.
Introducing the Guardian Series
The “Guardian” series re-visits a format I first started in the late 1960’s, and embodies design characteristics that have been intrinsic to my work ever since. My translucent wood vessels, for example, had a twofold goal: (1) expose the natural beauty concealed beneath the surface of each log, (2) create a format – a silhouette – that interacts with the wood to emphasize and highlight that hidden beauty, but one that also is pleasing and provocative in its own right.
My personal emphasis when I think of plywood is on the wood rather than the ply. Yes, machinery has been used to cut and stack the wood, but for me that only heightens the intrigue residing in each layer beneath the outermost surface. It also offers the challenge of transition from uniform striated edge to entrancing wavy-grain surfaces. Speak of complexity and tension!
The Guardian profile, to me, would be commanding in any medium. I sought to embody authoritative towering stature with flowing, benign grace. Powerful to be sure, but also benevolent and protective. I’ve chosen elliptical rather than circular cross-sectional symmetry, feeling that this conveys grace and “delicacy” to the almost overwhelming presence. Same reasons for the slender foot and diminutive throat-and-bell.
There are already two companion forms in the Guardian series, with a number of variations in mind. After thirty years of fingernail-thin translucent vessels it is exhilarating to work on forms where I do not have to hold my breath.
Featured Articles
Artist keeps chasing
the curves of wood
Ron Kent has pursued sculptural forms rather than utilitarian pieces
By Joleen Oshiro, Star Bulletin
The Benchmark Art Exhibition
TCM Honolulu Membership Blog
Double Lives
Winston Churchill, Sally Ride, Tess Gerritsen...and Ron Kent??
"Double Lives" by David Heenan
"...teaches by example, profiling ten extraordinary individuals and describing how they achieved spectacular success and happiness through the cross-pollination of a double life." Click here to read more.
Galleries
Barry Friedman Ltd.
32 East 67th Street
New York, NY 10021
(212) 794-8950
barryfriedmanltd.com
del Mano Gallery
11941 San Vicente Blvd.
Los Angeles 90049
1-800-335-6266
delmano.com
Genesis Gallery Hawaii
250 Waikoloa Beach Drive
Waikoloa, HI 96738
(808) 777-5014
genesisgalleryhawaii.com
Gerald Peters Gallery
1101 Paseo de Peralta
Santa Fe, NM 87501
(505) 954 5700
2913 Fairmont
Dallas, TX 75201
(214) 969-9410
www.gpgallery.com
Hana Coast Gallery
Hotel Hana Maui,
Hana, HI 96713
(808) 248-8636
hanacoast.com
Houston Center for
Contemporary Craft
4848 Main Street
Houston, TX 77002
(713) 529-4848
crafthouston.org
RakovaBrecker Gallery DCOA
1855 Griffin Road
Dania Beach, FL33004
1-954-924-9878
rakovabrecker.com
Thomas Riley Galleries
8699 Chagrin Blvd #260
Cleveland, OH 44122
(216) 766-1711
16 Central Way
Kirkland, WA 98033
(425) 576-0762
642 North High Street
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 228-6554
2026 Murray Hill Road
Cleveland, OH 44106
(216) 421-1445
Rileygalleries.com
Wendt Gallery
1550 South Coast Hwy.
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
(949) 497-4292
wendtgallery.com
Selected Permanent Collections
21st Century Museum
of Contemporary Art
Kanazawa, Japan
The Louvre
(Musée des Arts Decoratifs)
Paris
det Danske Kunstindustrimusee
Copenhagen
Hawke's Bay Cultural Trust
Hawke's Bay, New Zealand
The White House
Permanent Collection
Washington D.C.
Smithsonian American
Art Museum (SAAM)
Washington, D.C.
Victoria and Albert Museum
London
Cooper-Hewitt
National Design Museum
New York
Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Minneapolis
Museum of Art + Design
New York
Museum of Fine Arts
Boston
Yale University Art Gallery
Newark
Mobile Museum of Art
Alabama
Mint Museum of Art + Design
Charlotte, NC
High Museum of Art
Atlanta
The Detroit Institute of Arts
Detroit
Carnegie Museum of Art
Pittsburgh
Arizona State University
Tempe
Los Angeles County
Museum of Art
Los Angeles
Selected Special Presentations
Dr. Thomas Klestil
President, Republic of Austria
by J. Hans Strasser,
Consul General of Austria in Hawai'i
1995
Emperor Akihito of Japan
by Kensaku Hogen,
Consul General of Japan in Hawai'i,
and the Japan-America Society
1993
President William Jefferson Clinton,
by Congressman Neil Abercrombie
1993
President George H.W. Bush
by Congresswoman Patricia Saiki
1990
His Holiness Pope John Paul II
by Drs. Roger and Maria Brault
1987
Crown Prince Hitachi of Japan
by the Hawaiian Japanese Chamber of
Commerce
1985
Senator Daniel Inouye,
by Hawaii Democrat Party H.R.H.
1985
Sultan Iskandar of Johor,
Agong of Malaysia
(Personal purchase)
1985
President Ronald Reagan,
by Hawaii Republican Party
1984
Supreme Court Justice
William Brennan,
by the University of Hawai'i
School of Law
1983
Governor Hikaru Kamei,
Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan,
by the Hawaii State Senate
1981
Selected Traveling Exhibits
Smithsonian Institution
Traveling Exhibition
USA, New Zealand
Craft Today
USA, Europe
International Turned Objects Show
USA, Canada
Out of the Woods
FAMOS, Eurpoe