His paintings are ethereal and contemplative in warm, earthy hues, often depicting bodies forever floating in a surreal tableau.
His sculptures are primal — copper and bronze pounded and bent in an abstract image of figures reaching to the sky, roots spreading to the earth, or the cross section of a bone, where its marrow flows.
His name is Satoru Abe, and his 72 years of artistic creativity have made the 93-year-old one of Hawaii’s most recognized artists.
A selection from his life’s body of work will go on view at Luxury Row in Waikiki this month, beginning with a reception Wednesday, and continuing with an exhibition July 25 through Aug. 15.
Abe says he plans to be on-site each day, working on his art and interacting with visitors.
“Satoru Abe is a living treasure and to have his lifetime retrospective in Waikiki is a gift,” said exhibit coordinator Joyce Okano.
Abe, who was also featured in Luxury Row’s “Modern Masters” annual exhibition in 2009, has a connection to Waikiki that goes back to the years before statehood.
Born in Moiliili in 1926, Abe became interested in art while attending McKinley High School and went on to study in California and New York, and to have his work featured in the Museum of Modern Art, in Time magazine and on the cover of Art in America magazine, as well as to have exhibits across the U.S. and in Japan.
His first solo show was in Waikiki in 1950, just across the street from where his current show will be on exhibit.
In celebration of this poetic return to the area where he launched his career, more than 100 of Abe’s signature pieces will be on display, from tiny necklace pendants to head high sculptures, and from wooden etchings to paintings and metal work.
A key milestone in the life of the legendary local artist, the show carries particularly weighty significance because Abe plans for it to be his final public exhibition.
“Satoru Abe and a handful of his counterparts, like Tadashi Sato and their mentor, Isami Doi — through their practice of artmaking and mentoring others, art flourished and grew to what it is today in Hawaii,” notes curator John Koga. “They followed their passion and dreams by going to New York, the art capital of the world. Satoru came home and persevered at a time when there was no support for the arts in Hawaii. He was humble and extended a helping hand to me and my peers to stay the course, and he passed on the spirit to me to help the next generation.”
Reflecting on his impressive oeuvre, Abe sat down with the Star-Advertiser to share insight into his life and to talk about his art.
HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER: You have a big show coming up. What are you working on in preparation?
SATORU ABE: Sculptures. I work on at least three different pieces at the same time. This is my final show. My career is ending; my life too. Enough is enough.
Q: Do you feel fulfilled as an artist?
A: Yes. When I started, I just wanted to be an artist. I never could have imagined … after 72 years, I can’t believe what I’ve made.
Q: You have traveled all over, studied with great teachers at home and abroad, accomplished so much in the way of shows and awards. What was your greatest lesson from these experiences?
A: I didn’t think I’d live long enough, therefore I rushed like there was no tomorrow. If I knew I was going to live this long, I would have taken a little more time to look at what I was making and enjoy it.
Q: What advice do you have for up-and-coming artists?
A: It’s good to be young and naive. If you think too much you cannot do a lot of things — you’d be afraid.
My advice is just do it. Take that first step. If you take the first step then you’ll take the second step. But if you don’t take any step, you’ll never get anywhere. You will still just be thinking about it.
In high school, I was not an academic person. I slept my way through and daydreamed. I kept telling myself, “There’s got to be something more than what’s around me. I’ve got to see the world one day.”
When I graduated, one day I was working for Dairymen’s (a Honolulu dairy company, now Meadow Gold). I said, “Is this what I’m doing the rest of my life?” And I answered, “No.”
I went home to tell my parents, “I want to be an artist.” Till today, I’m quite surprised they said OK. It’s a time when all the parents said no, because you have to support the family and so forth. The only thing they said was, “Be prepared to be poor.”
Q: You were a young Hawaii man when you went to New York in the 1940s. Was the experience intimidating?
A: This was 1948 so there was a lot of discrimination, but it didn’t bother me. I didn’t go to New York to change people’s opinion. I just wanted to study art.
Q: Around that time, you met Ruth in New York — a Wahiawa girl — and you got married. Ruth has since passed away, in 2001. You have your daughter, Gail, and two grown grandsons to keep you company, but do you have a woman in your life?
A: Art is safer. You’re not going to get into trouble (laughs). I met two girls in my lifetime, I married one of them. That’s enough.
Q: Do you have any hobbies?
A: Art, there’s nothing else. I work every day, more or less. I used to do sculptures in the day and paint at night, but now I just want to relax and watch a TV program at night and go to sleep.
I don’t actually sleep. I just think about what I’m going to do tomorrow. All night I (day)dream about what I’m going to do the next day.
Q: Speaking of what’s around the corner, what can we expect from your upcoming show?
A: I just want people to come and look with an open mind, and you’ll be able to see something you never saw before.
This show is something I want to give to Hawaii. I have a humble background, but I achieved so much artistically. It’s a cliche that if I can do it, you can do it. That doesn’t apply. Artists give something beyond themselves.
SATORU ABE — 72 YEARS OF CREATIVITY
>> Where: Luxury Row, 2100 Kalakaua Ave.
>> When: Exhibition on view noon-9 p.m. daily, July 25-Aug. 15; opening reception 5 p.m. Wednesday
>> Cost: Free
>> Info: luxuryrow.com
>> Note: Complimentary valet parking available
