Guide to the Law Library at UH Manoa : Art at Your Law Library

Ron Kent: Master Artist of Rebellious Form
Ron Kent is a Hawaiʻi based wood worker who specializes in bowls and vessels known to have a translucent glow. His work has been exhibited in world renowned museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, to the Louvre, as well as in local galleries, fairs and art shows.

Kent discovered woodturning in 1975 when his wife Myra gave him a $35.00 toy lathe.  His first carving was a piece of driftwood. Eventually, he wore out his first toy lathe for a professional one, making bottle forms, silhouettes with elongated necks and eggs. Then he incorporated oils to bring out translucent light in his works.  Norfolk Island Pine, which grows in the South Pacific, became a common wood medium for Kent’s art.

He is considered both a classicist and minimalist, but he refuses to be pigeonholed. After being known for his translucent, thin bowls, he defied expectations by making thick and heavy forms expressed in concave, convex, saddle-shaped, wave sculptures. He also created organic Seaweed forms made of “interwoven randomness of capillary-tube sculptures, and the open-sided inner-mirrored pyramids.”  

Kent is known to “rebel against the limitations that success brings...Just as it was experimentation that brought the artist critical acclaim, it was experimentation that freed him to follow his muse.”

This Art Map @ the Law Library plots the locations of art works that have been donated to the library by law students, faculty, and friends to the Law School.  Some of these art works were donated after our annual art shows. Check out photos from our 2015 and 2018 Art Shows.

The library’s first event was held in 2015 and focused on Social Justice. The second show was held in 2017 with the theme of Boundaries.  The library’s third Art Show in 2018  was titled Currents.  The last Art Show held in 2019 was called Na`au Pono.  All of the Art Shows feature artistic interpretations on the theme in a variety of media.The Art Show features submissions from faculty, staff, and students, in addition to alumni and the extended law school ʻohana. The art committee is formed from Law Library staff as well as a law student representative.  The committee hopes that the added works submitted by law school ʻohana will serve as a platform to discuss  contemporary issues in law and justice through the lens of artistic expression.  A special reception is held in the lobby of the library to commemorate the opening, and features refreshments for attendees, a chance to meet some of the artists in person.  An event program is also available.

Dan DeLuz Bowls

Underneath CJ's portrait are some glass display cases featuring the wooden bowls of Dan DeLuz, a woodworker from Paʻauilo, Hilo. This collection was donated to the Law Library from Billy Richardson, Jr.  Come to CJ's corner to see the different types of wood that the bowls are carved out of.

Dan developed a knowledge and appreciation for trees and woods of Hawaii. He followed the indigenous Hawaiian philosophy of  “I ola ʻoe, I ola mākou nei” (my life is dependent on yours; your life is dependent on mine).  As a woodworker, he made efforts to protect the living forest.  He used wood taken from dead, fallen, dying trees or removed near homes for safety reasons and carved calabashes from locally grown wood.  

The function of wooden umeke and calabash bowls represented his life philosophy of “sharing.” His shared his shop with cats, a dog and cockatiel--he had a special way with animals, plants, and people. He shared his life passion with others, building Hawaiʻi’s woodworking community with the Big Island Woodturners Club, West Hawaiʻi Woodturners Club, and Hawaiʻi Wood Guild. 

DeLuz passed away on Jan 15, 2012 at 77 years old. But the gallery is still open. The gallery is called Dan DeLuz Woods.   Shaun, Dan DeLuz’s  grandson, continues his grandfather’s tradition, while carving his own style.