Title: | Laule'a |
Circa: | 1999 |
Size: | 40" x 50" |
Frame Size: | 48.5" x 58.5" |
Medium: | Acrylic |
SOLD |
Susan McGovney Hansen produced a sizable collection of acrylics, oils, pastels, and watercolors depicting Hawaiian figures — especially women — in media res. Hansen’s Hawaiians are masterful studies in contrast: The figures are solidly fleshed, yet their billowing kihei (one-shoulder dresses) and windswept lei inject an entrancing sense of vitality into the composition. As the central figure sets a rhythm with her ‘uli‘uli, the two women flanked her move to the beat. These exquisitely adorned wahine appear to be dancing hula under a moonlit, starry night — perhaps staging a familiar routine for dazzled Waikiki tourists, perhaps enacting an ancient ceremony known only to them. Wherever they are, their ecstasy erupts from the canvas and holds us, spellbound in a fleeting moment of cultural homage.
This acrylic evokes Madge Tennent’s numerous cropped views of three Hawaiian women grouped together. Still, while Tennent enlivened her figures with whirling brushstrokes, Hansen used their dramatically contoured poses and flowing garments to animate the scene. In the lower register lies an unspecified kapa pattern, further cementing this masterwork's indelible bond to the Hawaiian Islands. A major exhibition in 2019 showcased her talents and other women artists of Hawai’i at the Sisters of the Brush show at the Isaacs Art Center.
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