FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nov. 2, 2016

Media contacts:

Lesa Griffith

Tel: 808-532-8712

Scott Whelden
Tel: 808-532-8719
Email: swhelden@honolulumuseum.org

MUSEUM PUBLISHES FIRST CATALOG OF COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTS IN 26 YEARS


Beautifully illustrated book is perfect holiday gift for art lovers; it inspired new exhibition at Spalding House opening Nov. 3

WHAT: Honolulu Museum of Art's Collection Highlights
WHERE: Honolulu Museum of Art Shops
COST: $29.95
INFO: 532-8705, honolulumuseum.org (publishable)
High-res images available on request.

HONOLULU, HAWAI‘I—Two years in the making, the Honolulu Museum of Art has published Collection Highlights, the first collections catalog to be printed since 1990. With the combining of the Honolulu Academy of Arts and The Contemporary Museum collections and new acquisitions in that time, Collection Highlights reveals a world-class collection that has grown in breadth over the last 26 years.

In 2014, the museum’s curators were mandated with selecting the best works from their areas of the collection. Photocopies were made of an image of each work and taped to the walls of the museum’s conference room. Over a series of meetings, the curators pared down their more than 200 picks to 133 works that represent the essence of the collection.

From a 4,500-year-old marble sculpture from the Cyclades to Tony Oursler’s 21st-century sculpture that includes video projection, the book’s pages provide a global journey through time.

The book is dedicated to the late Sam Cooke, who served on the museum’s board of trustees for 46 years and also happened to be a great grandson of museum founder Anna Rice Cooke. And its publication was generously underwritten by Richard Cox, son of the museum’s first director, Catharine Cox, an art and drama teacher who helped Anna Rice Cooke catalog her collection, which would go on to become the core of the museum’s art holdings.

Collection Highlights is available at the Honolulu Museum of Art Shop for $29.95.

HoMA SELECT AT SPALDING HOUSE
To celebrate the publication of Collection Highlights, Spalding House director Aaron Padilla used the book as the basis for the next exhibition at Spalding House. HoMA SELECT comprises
22 of the Honolulu Museum of Art’s best works—all included in the catalog—that the museum has transported up the hill to Spalding House in Makiki Heights. Visitors will be able to see some of the museum’s most prized works in a whole new perspective—in a different space, in different light, and in a different context.

“The exhibition steers clear of traditional art historical paradigms as works are paired in unexpected ways, regardless of time period, genre, or geographical origin, provoking thought and discussion,” says Padilla.

Included in HoMA SELECT are works by Francis Bacon, Paul Gauguin, Hon’ami Kōetsu, Henry Moore, Nam Jun Paik, Auguste Rodin, and Yamakawa Shūhō. It puts the spotlight on the remarkable quality and breadth of a collection that began nearly 90 years ago with founder Anna Rice Cooke. The exhibition is generously supported by the Louis L. Borick Foundation.

HoMA SELECT Shuttle Tour
Tuesdays 1-3:30pm beginning January 2017
Free with admission

Visitors can see the best of what the Honolulu Museum of Art has to offer at both its locations on this docent-led tour of works featured in the museum’s new Collection Highlights catalog. The tour begins and ends at 900 Beretania Street, with a shuttle ride to Spalding House to see the exhibition HoMA SELECT.

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About the Honolulu Museum of Art

One of the world’s premier art museums, the Honolulu Museum of Art presents international caliber special exhibitions and features a collection that includes Hokusai, van Gogh, Gauguin, Monet, Picasso and Warhol, as well as traditional Asian and Hawaiian art.

Located in two of Honolulu’s most beautiful buildings, visitors enjoy two cafés, gardens, and films and concerts at the theater. The museum is dedicated to bringing together great art and people to create a more harmonious, adaptable, and enjoyable society in Hawai’i.

Locations:

Honolulu Museum of Art: 900 S. Beretania Street
Honolulu Museum of Art Spalding House: 2411 Makiki Heights Drive
Honolulu Museum of Art School: 1111 Victoria Street
Honolulu Museum of Art at First Hawaiian Center: 999 Bishop Street
Honolulu Museum of Art Doris Duke Theatre: 901 Kinau Street (at rear of museum)

Hours:

Honolulu Museum of Art: Tues–Sat 10 am–4:30pm; Sun 1–5 pm; closed Monday.

Honolulu Museum of Art Spalding House: Tues–Sat 10am–4pm; Sun noon–4pm

Admission (permits entry to both museums on the same day):

$10 general admission; children 17 and under are free.



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