Kaili Chun (born 1962) is a
Native Hawaiian sculptor and
installation art
Installation art is 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 ...
ist. She also is a lecturer at
Kapi'olani Community College. Her works frequently address Hawaiian culture and history as well as the effects of
Westernization. Natural and industrial materials are also common in her artworks.
Early life and education
Chun was born on
O'ahu and attended
Kamehameha Schools
Kamehameha Schools, formerly called Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate (KSBE), is a private school system in Hawaii established by the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate, under the terms of the will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, who was a formal membe ...
.
Her parents are of mixed ancestry and both are part Native Hawaiian.
As an undergraduate earning her B.A. in Architecture at
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
, Chun studied under
ceramic
A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...
artist
Toshiko Takaezu
Toshiko Takaezu (June 17, 1922 – March 9, 2011) was an American ceramic artist, painter, sculptor, and educator who was known for her rounded, closed forms that viewed ceramics as a fine art and more than a functional vessel. She is of Japan ...
. Chun went on to earn her
MFA from the
University of Hawai'i-Manoa in 1999. She also apprenticed under
Wright Elemakule Bowman Sr., a Native Hawaiian master craftsman and
canoe
A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle.
In British English, the term ...
builder from 1996–2003.
Career
Chun was the first Native Hawaiian recipient of the
Catharine E. B. Cox Award from the
Honolulu Academy of Arts.
She has also received the Individual Artist Award from the
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 ...
and a Native Arts and Cultures Foundation grant.
Chun is one of the first Native Hawaiian artists to exhibit in the
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...
in 2015.
Among the locations that have displayed Chun's work are the
Museum of Arts and Design,
the Venice Biennale,
the
Biennial of Hawaiii Artists at the
Contemporary Museum in Honolulu, the
Honolulu Academy of Arts,
and the
Wing Luke Museum
The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience is a history museum in Seattle, Washington, United States, which focuses on the culture, art and history of Asian Pacific Americans. It is located in the city's Chinatown-Internationa ...
.
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chun, Kaili
1962 births
American potters
American women sculptors
Hawaii artists
Living people
Modern sculptors
Kamehameha Schools alumni
Princeton University School of Architecture alumni
Sculptors from Hawaii
Women potters
21st-century American women artists
21st-century ceramists
American women ceramists
American ceramists