Ron Kent

Guardians

Four Seasons Maui

Kukio Country Club

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

“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

Lothar

HJCC

HJCC

SOFA

Photo Credit: Ruth Waterbury

SOFA

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