Artist Statement:

In my approach to my art, I tend to work from my consciousness. When working with mixed media or sculpture, I create forms that revolve around metaphoric relationships with a sense of time and space around each work, focusing on the negative space.

I am interested in how the objects relate to one another as people do, whether they complement, contrast, and feel supportive of one another. I keep working with the shape until I find the right relationship, a sense of harmony within and between the forms, and when the forms themselves seem to be having a conversation.

It’s a constant challenge for me to feel in balance with space, time, relationships, and nature. Through my work, I can express these dynamics in hopes of achieving a sense of tranquility and rootedness.

For functional wares, I think of intimate relationships from my hands to others.

I think of my functional ware shapes with a simple and inviting sensibility with their curves, weight, and thickness. I imagine what dishes might be served in it and whether the vessel invites me into a wonderful feast.

The Art in Public Places Collection can be viewed online and searched by artist name, artwork title, type of media, and more: Search the Art in Public Places Collection. You can also search the Public Art Archive or the Locate Public Art web app for permanently installed artworks in the collection, such as sculptures at public buildings.

Biography

Born in Kanagawa, Japan, Setsuko Watanabe began her interest in art through photography in high school. Later, it transformed into the love for fiber art in Kusaki and Roketsu-zome, a Japanese natural dye with wax resist. She moved to the Big Island of Hawaii and married Hiroki Morinoue in 1970. She began her journey with clay at the Kona Arts Center in Holualoa. Since then, her persistent interest and appreciation of various art media have led her to clay with paper, mixed-media painting, and printmaking in both 2D and 3D works. She is mainly self-taught by exploring and experimenting while taking many workshops throughout her career by well-established artists like Paulus Berensohn, Doug Casebeer, Robin Hopper, David Kuraoka, Ah Leon, Ken Little, Warren MacKenzie, Ken Matsuzaki, Gu Mei-Qun, Richard Notkin, Walter Ostrom, Esther Shimazu, Toshiko Takaezu, Peter Vandenberg for Ceramics & 3D, Karen Kunc, Joan Schulze, Robynn Smith, George Woollard for Printmaking & Mixed-media, Noriko Takamiya, Marilyn Wold, Tsuguo Yanai & Jiro Yonezawa for Fiber Arts/Basketry.

She has participated in numerous group shows in Japan, Hawaii, and the US Mainland and has received several awards for her clay works in both 2D and 3D, paintings, printmaking, and mixed media. Her works in private, public, and corporate collections include Hawai’i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Hawai’i State Art Museum (HiSAM), Honolulu Advertiser, First Hawaiian Banks in Honolulu, Kailua-Kona and Guam branches, Bank of Hawaii, Royal Hawaiian Hotel and Advanced Medical Nutrition in Hayward, California, and Onsen Ryokan “Yamaki” in Tochigi, Japan.

Hiroki and Setsuko Morinoue established Studio 7 Fine Arts Gallery in November 1979 as the first and now longest-standing contemporary art gallery in Hawaii. A humble space in a small village with a charmed history, the gallery holds an open-ended mission: to create and promote Contemporary Art.

She carries a visionary spirit and is one of the key-founding members of the Holualoa Foundation for Arts and Culture (HFAC), now known as Donkey Mill Art Center (DMAC), a nonprofit organization for arts and cultural education for all ages and abilities. She was a volunteer program director for over a decade and developed high-quality programs and classes for adults and children. One of the significant and signature programs she had developed was the Summer Art Experiences (SAE) for youth, and this teaching philosophy became the spine of the DMAC’s youth programs. She deeply believes in “Art is Living, Living is ART.”, She believes that Arts & Cultural Education support better lives and can build a better and safer environment and community to live in.

She continues to support as the Director Emeritus and holds a significant role as an advisor for the Board of Directors, teachers, staff, students, friends of HFAC and visitors. https://donkeymillartcenter.org/

She was the lead coordinator and vice-chair of the Local Committee of the International Mokuhanga Conference (IMC). She organized the third International Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock printmaking) Conference in 2017 in Hawaii. It was the first time bringing IMC out of Japan.

The IMC 2017 Hawaii was held in Honolulu for four days at the East-West Conference Center and University of Hawaii at Manoa campus in Honolulu, Oahu, from Sept. 28 - Oct. 1. There was an International Juried Exhibition “Beauty of Mokuhanga: Discipline & Sensibility”, with keynote speakers Mayumi Oda, Richard Notkin, and Seiichi Kondo. She organized paper presentations, demonstrations, portfolio, and product showcases, followed by a week-long Satellite Program with three invited Mokuhanga artists at the Donkey Mill Art Center in Holualoa, Hawaii, from Oct. 3 - Oct. 8, 2017.

Her vision was to create a melting pot for Mokuhanga printmakers from around the world to gather and share new ways of utilizing this traditional technique and to revitalize and perpetuate the important role and responsibility of an artist and their art in society. http://2017.mokuhanga.org/

She believes building a culturally rich community will help make for a safe and peaceful global community and live as respectful citizens of the Earth.