Image: “Quiet Contemplation” by Haunani K.M. Bush, watercolor, acrylic, and gesso painting, 2005. Art in Public Places Collection of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. Purchased from the 2006 Hawaiʻi Watercolor Society Open Exhibit. Currently on display at the Hawaiʻi State Charter School Commission. Haunani Bush (1961–2022) was born in Chinon, France, and received a BA in English and a law degree from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. A mostly self-taught artist, her vibrant and layered paintings skillfully combine realism and abstraction, while reflecting her love of nature and people. According to the artist, “Quiet Contemplation” “represents a winter vista evoking a cold, desolate, windswept landscape that is dominated with the dormant seeds of life and nature’s promise and commitment to the continued cycle of rebirth.”
Hawaiʻi State Charter School Commission: “can’t wait for our commissioners and the public to see the new art!”
Ed Noh, Executive Director of the Hawaiʻi State Charter School Commission, sent warm thanks and appreciation to the SFCA Art in Public Places team following the installation of Art in Public Places artworks in their office.
Ed also noted “the real treasure is featuring the art piece from Haunani Bush, a former commission staff member who sadly passed away. I never met her, but those that worked with her have been pausing at the piece, remembering and sharing emotional stories about her as a person, artist, and friend. I still can’t believe that out of all the stacks of art cards, her piece found its way to us!”
He continued with a shoutout to SFCA Art in Public Places Program art installers Pete Powlison and José González for their excellent work. “I appreciated all the communication leading up to the day and the quality of the work.”
Explore the collection online
The SFCA Art in Public Places Collection can be explored online: sfca.hawaii.gov/app-art (link will redirect to an Axiell website).