Capitol Modern, formerly the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum, opened two new exhibits Wednesday night that will be on view for one week only.
It’s in collaboration with Hawaii Walls, formerly known as Pow! Wow! Hawaii, the annual mural festival founded by artist Jasper Wong. As part of the festivities, the state art museum has on view “Local,” the second solo exhibition for artist Shar Tuiʻasoa. Listeners might know her as the illustrator of “Punky Aloha.”
The show stays true to Tuiʻasoa’s vibrant and playful style while incorporating new materials like wood cutouts. The Conversation spoke with Tuiʻasoa and asked how a solo exhibition fits in with the artist’s practice and goals.
“It's funny, because nothing ever feels like it fits in,” Tuiʻasoa said. “It's a little bit crazy, that's the nature of illustration, of freelance, of being an artist, is that you just want to create stuff and you see where it takes you. And I think that my career, I was just so set on being able to stay home."
"So I just sort of dove into the local small business world and created a community for myself there with my fellow artists and small business owners. And that's where all the magic happened, and new jobs that I never thought I would take on happened, and it's just been this kind of crazy road.”
Tuiʻasoa's exhibition “Local” will be on view at Capitol Modern through Sept. 24.
This story aired on The Conversation on Sept. 18, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m.
