Aloha Friends:

Welcome to your first edition of Gabe’s Aloha Art Update.

Since I moved to Maui and started working at the gallery on Front St. in Lahaina, the most common question I get from clients is, “What is it like to live here?” So, along with keeping you entertained and edified on art, while presenting some of the amazing pieces that we have in the gallery—I’ll give you updates on life in paradise.

(1). HOWZIT IN MAUI?

The last of the whales have left for the season while down the street from the gallery, international artisans have started carving out trees for the May 27th canoe festival. It’s 84 degrees and sunny. It’s hot.

(2). WARHOL AND HARING ARE HOT
Sotheby’s and Christie’s had their spring auctions last week. You may have heard that Andy Warhol’s “Liz Taylor” sold for 12.6 million dollars. However, I’ll bet you didn’t know that the painting pictured here by Keith Haring projected to sell at a range of $250,000-$350,000 was sold for $492,000.

You can see the sold Sotheby’s lot here:
http://search.sothebys.com/jsps/live/lot/LotDetail.jsp?&live_lot_id=366&sale_number=N08093

(3). COOL TECHNOLOGY
Get a satellite glimpse of our island in the middle of the pacific and zoom into our gallery, or to your favorite beach. Don’t get mad at me after you realize you’ve spent an hour checking out your old stomping grounds from a bird’s eye view. This has to be one of the coolest things to come onto the internet this year:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=lahainaluna+and+front,+lahaina,+hi&spn=0.169601,0.250626&t=k&hl=en

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=lahainaluna+and+front,+lahaina,+hi&t=k&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=20.879022,-156.679716&spn=0.033922,0.085831&om=1

(4). FEATURED ART OF THE MONTH:
If you haven’t heard of Philippe Bertho by now, you are due for a visit to our gallery (and a trip to Maui right?). I’m amazed at the descriptions that I hear from visitors seeing his work for the first time, in fact, I’ll use your words instead of mine: “Cirque de Soleil meets Willy Wonka”. But don’t get me wrong, this is very smart stuff. In the words of a critic for the NY Times, William Zimmer, “Bertho is a master of trompe l’oiel”. Bertho’s success thus far is unprecedented. His newest release, pictured here, is called “Woman Under Pressure”.

http://martinlawrence.com/bertho.html

(5). FAVORITE HIKING SPOT : HIGH AS HELICOPTERS
Did you hear the buzz about the controversial blue Maui guidebook? It claimed to reveal all the secret local spots like the best waterfalls, the best hikes. A friend who visited Maui left the guidebook with me and I have news, some of the best hikes in Maui are not in it. If you like the outdoors and haven’t done a hike in Maui, I hiked Waihe’e Ridge Trail the other day and half way up the ridge I was passed by helicopters—but they were below me in the valley.
http://www.hawaiitrails.org/trail.asp?TrailID=MA+05+001&island=Maui

(6). CLIENT OF THE MONTH
Ginnie and Dick C., from Seattle, had never owned a masterwork before. When they walked into Martin Lawrence, they had no plans to acquire an original Picasso. “We were excited to have an opportunity to get a Picasso etching and we loved the story, we didn’t want to pass this up.” The piece they now own is from the story “Lysistrata”—a wonderful story of love, war and peace from the 5th century BC.
The story of Lysistrata:
http://www.sparknotes.com/drama/lysistrata/summary.html

Have a great month! I welcome your feedback on Gabe’s Aloha Art Update and look forward to hearing from you.

Mahalo Nui Loa (Thank you very much),
Gabe