Photo by Stephen H. Kawai

A city where good and bad art seem to go hand in hand around the strips of Montreal; very few artists stand out from the crowd. I’ve been to plenty art shows and have never been impressed by much that is out there. But once in awhile you attend a group exhibition and something out of the corner catches your eye… Was it an impressive painting, sculpture or installation art that had gathered my attention across the room? No, what caught my eye was a perfect balance of rocks, elements, wires and strings. These were the mobiles of Montreal artist Stephen H. Kawai.

Having met the artist, a humble man to say the least, his mobiles were impressive. With a background in chemistry  you can see the inner artist shining through his mobiles. Somewhere, somehow in a complex world of strands, molecules and the periodic tables, Stephen H. Kawai sees the beauty behind these elements and transforms them into a perfect balance of shapes represented in natural life or abstraction. However you analyze or simply enjoy the mobiles, one cannot deny the complexity but simplicity in its design. The complexity is in balance and materials; he uses anything from fossils, shells, coral, stones and marble spheres in his works; to create the overall “seemingly” simplicity of the final hanging mobile. A challenge for many artists is to convey the message, feelings and interpretations without over complicating the theme. It is that skill that makes Stephen’s artwork so special. Looking above or staring ahead at every slight movement, the mobiles will delight the viewers eye at every angle.

Stephen’s artistic history stems far beyond chemistry and years of fiddling with materials. His inspiration and style developed after he spent time in Paris,France in the early 90’s. The city where mobiles actually originated from. On his return to Montreal in 1994 with focus and new found inspiration; Stephen’s mobiles became reality. Now with over a decade of mobile creation; he continues to experiment with new materials, but the foundation of his artworks remain the same. I invite anyone interested in a visually intriguing experience to have a look and enjoy the works of Stephen’s H. Kawai.

http://www.shkawai.ca

Written by:
CAS Admin