Mark Chai

Mark Chai in 2008
A lamp by Mark Chai, seen from below

Mark Chai (born in Honolulu) is a Hawaiian-Chinese sculptor who shapes fine woods and recycled materials into lamps, sculpture, large installations and furniture.[1]

His lamps have been featured in the New Yorker,[2] House Beautiful [3] and Home[4] magazines and in Wallpaper* magazine’s Honolulu City Guide.[5] Honolulu magazine named him one of Hawaii’s hottest designers.[6] A dozen of his lamps appeared in the Hawai‘i season of the television show, “Real World.” [7] Chai's "Opala (Garbage) Gone Wild" received the 3-D award in the 2007 “Commitment to Excellence” Art Exhibition, was purchased by the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts for its Art in Public Places program, and displayed in the Hawaii State Art Museum.[8] Made from a recycled white plastic 30-US-gallon (110 L) barrel, it is a commentary on our overflowing landfills. "Hea Aku i Ka Makani" (Call to the Winds) an 8-foot (2.4 m) by 6-foot (1.8 m) suspended whirlwind of recycled plastic was shown at the Hawai'i State Art Museum's Hi'iakaikapoliopele show, along with "Hi'iaka's Skirt Becomes a Surfboard for Lohiau," an anthropomorphic surfboard made of recycled plastic that was purchased by the state for its permanent collection.[9]

His custom lamps light the Cafe at the Hawaii State Art Museum[10] and Art After Dark at the Honolulu Museum of Art.[11]

Chai says he was inspired to make lamps because, "I wanted to interact with the viewer. What better way than to turn something on?" [12] His work has been described as "cutting edge hanging lamps of intricate interlocking pieces of cut and finished plywood. The effect is origami in thin air with distinctive Hawaii touches." [13]

He received his BFA from the University of Hawaii, Manoa, in 1976, and is married to author Makana Risser Chai.[14]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ "The Art of Recycling," http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009912210315
  2. ↑ "Sculptor of Light," New Yorker, August 11–18, 2008
  3. ↑ "Lanterns," House Beautiful,February 2007
  4. ↑ Home, September, 1994
  5. ↑ Phaidon, 2009
  6. ↑ “Take Home Design: Stylish products by Hawai’i’s hottest designers,” Honolulu http://www.honolulumagazine.com/Honolulu-Magazine/April-2006/Take-Home-Design/
  7. ↑ “Second time around: Mark Chai crafts castoffs into masterpieces,” Honolulu Star Bulletin, August 16, 2001 http://archives.starbulletin.com/2001/08/16/features/index.html
  8. ↑ http://www.nuuanugallery.com/media/NG_PR_Encore08.pdf
  9. ↑ http://hawaii.gov/sfca/artmuseum.php?article_id=193
  10. ↑ http://www.markchaiarts.com/
  11. ↑ http://www.artafterdark.org/event/2009/06/26/moon-over-honolulu
  12. ↑ "Art: It's a Turn On," Honolulu Star-Bulletin, November 6, 1998
  13. ↑ "Hawaii by Design: Light'em Up, Mark Chai" http://hawaiirama.com/2006/10/cool-designs-lightem-up-mark-c
  14. ↑ "The Art of Recycling," http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009912210315

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