Arts

Masterpieces Unveiled: A Photographic Journey into O‘ahu’s Creative Souls

In these snapshots of local artists in their element, a photographer with deep roots in Hawai‘i’s arts scene captures formative moments in the lives of creatives across O‘ahu.

Images by Mark Kushimi

In these snapshots of local artists in their element, a photographer with deep roots in Hawai‘i’s arts scene captures formative moments in the lives of creatives across O‘ahu.

At her former workspace at Lana Lane Studios in Kaka‘ako, painter, performer,
and curator Hadley Nunes prepares for the arrival of a newborn in 2020.
In th years between art school and later forays in film production, artist Nicole Naone soaks in a quiet moment at home in Mānoa.
In the years between art school and later forays in film production, artist Nicole Naone soaks in a quiet moment at home in Mānoa.
For ceramicist Tamiko Claire, the pandemic lockdowns of 2020 meant more time throwing clay in her Pālolo studio and developing her newly launched home goods business.
Matthew and Roxanne Ortiz, the husband-and-wife art duo known as Wooden Wave, burn the midnight oil at their new home in Lā‘ie on the north shore of O‘ahu in 2022.

Before relocating to Waimea on Hawai‘i Island, artist John Koga worked out of Studio Mānoa, a custom-built workshop in his longtime family home.

After serving as the inaugural artist in residence at Single Double in Chinatown—his first residency—painter and sculptor Roland Longstreet returned to the neighborhood to rent a studio down the street.

Following a move back to Hawai‘i from California, woodworker, designer, and fabricator Brennen Cunningham settles into his new warehouse space on Sand Island in 2022.
Painter Tommy Hite is pictured at his Chinatown studio in the years leading up to his move to New York City in 2023.
Ashley Wells spends a contemplative morning at Mudd Studio, a community ceramics studio in Chinatown.