Art Class at the Grand Wailea

How often does it happen that one can go on vacation and discover lots more great art? Perhaps I'm temporarily forgetting my audience here. I suppose many of you do! And probably plan great trips around art visits. Our artful encounters were pure happenstance.

For one week of the trip, we stayed at the Grand Wailea in Maui. I am now forever ruined for future hotel stays. We had a Grand time there, pardon the pun. From the beautiful Maui sunsets, to the ocean view room, gorgeous grounds, three different daily happy hours, and series of water slides, we never had to leave the resort (though we did, don't worry).

The above photo is my favorite piece- Ho'olaule'a O Ho'ao (Celebration of Marriage) by Ken Shutt. Appropriately named, no? Ken Shutt, born in Long Beach, California, lived in Hawaii from 1963 -1995. His art appears throughout Hawaii- the Grand Wailea happens to have 2 pieces, though I sadly only photographed one.

The hotel's lobby cocktail lounge area is named the Botero Bar, after Fernando Botero. The hotel has 9 of his sculptures throughout the lounge area.

Another piece I loved is the Mermaid of Wailea with 2 Dolphins by Herb Kawainui Kane (born in Minnesota, but raised in Hawaii). The sculpture sits in the lagoon surrounding the restaurant Humuhumunukunukuapua'a. And yes, because we are very adolescent, we practiced saying the name all week long.

This next piece is adjacent to the Botero bar and I believe it is Jan Fisher's Mermaid. Sorry- my focus of picture taking initially was not the art itself but rather the experience of the resort.

I believe this next piece is native Hawaiin's Sean K.L. Browne's Wa'u Pohaku (Stone Scraper), which is one of two sculptures featured in the garden.
This is my other favorite- the mosaic "Crossroads" by Yvonne Cheng. It sits just down the stairs from the main lobby, across from the formal dining room. Honestly, my photo does NOT do it justice.

The hotel even uses an image of the painting "Pineapples" by Zhou Ling for the room key.

In addition to the pieces I've shown, the Grand features work by artists you might have heard of (wink, wink) like Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, and Fernand Leger. They also feature an Artists in Residence program every Tuesday and Friday, allowing local artists to set up displays in the lobby. The art gallery NaPua Gallery.

While a tour of the art was sadly not one of the featured activities for the week, one can learn more about the art here. Perhaps this is something they'd arrange for my next visit!?

I was amazed at how much art was available everywhere we went throughout Hawaii. Who knew this was like a mecca for artists? Unfortunately, I did not buy any- but a perfectly good reason to head back.

-Emmie