Masami Teraoka is one of Hawai‘i’s few internationally recognized contemporary artists. His highly charged works are a combination of traditional forms and often scandalous imagery. HPR’sNoeTanigawa visited with him in his new exhibition at the Honolulu Museum which represents a project he has been working on since 1990. Teraoka traces the roots of his interest in the Catholic church sex abuse cases to the furor over the Clinton/Lewinsky affair. As a Japanese national with a more permissive attitude toward sex, and a veteran of the 60's sexual revolution, Teraoka was mystified over the American public/media response to what he saw as the President's private behavior. Teraoka says he was moved to seek out the origins of Americans' attitudes toward sex. Ten years later, the clergy sex abuse scandals became public, and in his series of triptychs, Teraoka explores the political, economic, religious, historical and social forces involved in the issue.
“Feast of Fools: The Triptych Paintings of Masami Teraoka” continues at the Honolulu Museum of Art through August 30th. Teraoka will be available in the gallery from 1-2:45 daily through July 3rd.
Find more on the Honolulu Museum of Art exhibition, “Feast of Fools: The Triptych Paintings of Masami Teraoka”
For more images and a bio check either Catharine Clark Gallery in San Francisco or the Samuel Freeman Gallery.
