WHAT: Fifteen artists, professors and alumni of the University of Hawaii, will be featured on the ground floor lobby of the 7th edition of PooL Art Fair in New York at the 3,000 square foot gallery adjacent to the lobby of the newly-renovated Gershwin Hotel from March 5, 6, & 7, 2010.

WHY: This is the first time artists with ties to Hawaii have been shown as a group at an international art fair. Combining Eastern and Western influences, "Out of Hawai`i" at the Pool Art Fair will showcase some of the artists who work, teach, study and have roots in Hawaii. Viewers will see that the critically engaged art being created in Hawai`i extends far beyond the typical "paradise" images.

WHEN: Opening Hours
Friday March 5th — 3:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Friday March 5th — 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM *Vernissage
Saturday March 6th — 3:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Sunday March 7th — 3:00 PM to 10:00 PM

WHO: Artists in the "Out Of Hawai`i" exhibition at the PooL Art Fair are:
The exhibit is curated by Debra Drexler, Chair of the Drawing and Painting Program at the University of Hawai`i, and in October had a solo exhibit at HP Garcia Gallery. Drexler "commutes" between New York and Hawai`i showing frequently in New York, and previously curated "Wanderings" an exhibit of emerging artists from Hawai`i at the Lab Gallery at Roger Smith Arts, New York.

New York artists count Michele Zalopany, whose solo exhibitions include Gagosian gallery and The Whitney Biennial, and who’s work has been featured in Harpers Magazine and The New York Times, and Peggy Cyphers who has exhibited in numerous solo New York exhibits been reviewed in Art in America and The New York Times.

Faculty from the University of Hawai`i include Mary Babock, Peter Chamberlain, Gaye Chan, Charles Cohan, Scott Groenger, Chae Ho Lee, Wendy Kawabata, Yida Wang, and Suzanne Wolfe, who have all received local and international recognition for their work.

Alumni include emerging artists Liam Davis and Isaac Parker who have recently moved to New York after completing their MFA degrees and Jodi Endicott who has shown locally and internationally.

WHERE: Gershwin Hotel 7 E 27th Street New York, NY 10016 www.gershwinhotel.com
“Gershwin-area was the Tin Pan Alley of the olden days. This is where the pop songs of the 30’s and 40’s were conceived. Our hotel is now a hundred years old!”

PooL is the successor to the acclaimed New York Independent Art Fair (November 2000), a groundbreaking exhibition that attracted thousands of US and international visitors. The simple, modest approach of the PooL Art Fair offers an exciting alternative to the "art fair" experience for dealers and collectors, as well as the general public.

STATEMENT: “Out of Hawai`i” will feature works from prominent artists and faculty or MFA alumni from the University of Hawai`i. A few New York artists whose work has been influenced by the cultural and physical opulence of Hawai`i will also join the exhibition. The cultural mix of the islands blend Asian, Western and Pacific Island influences to inspire art that is rich in complexity," said Debra Drexler, the exhibit's curator and one of the painters, as well as Chair of the Drawing and Painting program at the University of Hawai`i. "Hawai`i has remarkable physical beauty from pristine oceans to active volcanoes. The intellectual center of the Honolulu art scene is the University of Hawaii’s Department of Art and Art History.