The 9th International Shoebox Sculpture Exhibition

June 1 - June 30, 2007

Whoever said, “good things come in small packages” must have known about the International Shoebox Sculpture Exhibitions.  If it follows in the footsteps of its predecessors, The 9th International Shoebox Sculpture Exhibition will be one of the most popular exhibits for the young and young-at-heart alike.  Dozens of small sculptures from around the world show how artists have handled the challenges of space and scale dictated by the size of an ordinary shoebox.  An invitation-only exhibition, this triennial has attracted a large number of well-known artists from Hawai‘i, the U.S. mainland, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Mexico, Norway, The Netherlands, South Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

With a desire to see the work of sculptors from around the world, Mamoru Sato and Fred Roster, professors at the University of Hawaii at Mänoa, developed the concept for The International Shoebox Sculpture Exhibitions.  Because of the often large and awkward nature of sculpture, national and multi-national exhibitions are cumbersome and costly.  Thus, the small format of these exhibitions, with the subsequent ease and economy of handling, provides broader exposure to contemporary sculpture.   The first of the triennial Shoebox exhibitions was held in 1982.

Each sculpture speaks for itself.  Some works are conceptual, some reflect the artist’s cultural heritage, and others are universal in expression.  Collectively the sculptures are a powerful commentary on the state of humankind at the end of a century driven by industry and technology and at the beginning of a new millennium that is already marked with strife, uncertainties, and tragedies.

To create their sculptures, artists have used almost every imaginable medium.  Cast metal, carved wood, blown glass, woven fiber, paper maché, molded clay, found objects, glass beads, feathers, and human hair have been components of Shoebox sculptures.  Visitors can easily find more than one favorite work and some have been inspired to make their own small-scale sculptures.

After the initial showing of The 9th International Shoebox Sculpture Exhibition at the University of Hawai‘i Art Gallery, approximately 80 were selected for the traveling exhibition.  Currently scheduled at 14 venues in the U.S., this traveling exhibition will conclude in October/November 2008.  Previous Shoebox Sculpture exhibits organized by theUniversity ofHawai‘iArtGallery were shown inJapan,Taiwan,Mexico,Canada, andGuam as well as theU.S. mainland.  The 9th International Shoebox Sculpture Exhibition is organized by the University of Hawaii Art Gallery and supported in part by a grant from the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture.

http://www.hawaii.edu/artgallery/shoebox/9/index.html