Sculptor Lonny Tomono is returning from an artist's residency in New York City, just in time to celebrate a show he’s got at Ars Café on Diamond Head. The classic, but sensuous, wood sculptures were all made in Tomono's studio outside Hilo.
In fact, the piece Tomono mentions in his sound bite has been purchased from the show, but the rest of the exhibition, Go Figure, remains on view through September 2018 at Ars Café on Diamond Head.
Tomono studied fine arts at UH M?noa, then sculpture at San Francisco State and San Jose State Universities. His specialty is wood carving, influenced by years of study in Japan with a traditional temple builder. Those woodcraft techniques, including traditional joinery, are part of his artistic toolkit.
For the show at Ars Café, Tomono returns to the human figure, influenced by Rodin’s sculptures and drawings. He has imbued one wood piece there with an amazing gravitas by covering it with graphite. It
looks very heavy! Other pieces exhibit a sly humor.
