About the Exhibition
“There is something magical when two or more minds get together…. it can result in a great learning experience which, if given the chance, can enrich one’s creative process and work.” —Exhibiting Artist Jill Backus
Collaboration is at the heart of Rhythms of Resonance: Explorations in Collaborative Ceramics. In this exhibition, Co-Curators Mina Elison and Jake Boggs, invited small teams of ceramic artists to explore the transformative power of shared practice, dialogue, and material connection. The artistic partnerships highlighted below offer a glimpse into how these experiences took shape for each group of artists when preparing for the exhibition.
Meet the Artists
Tomoko Nakazato and Setsuko Watanabe Morinoue
Shu, Ha, Ri is a Japanese concept of mastery in three stages for a lifetime learner of any discipline: protecting (learning), breaking (detachment), and leaving (transcendence).
In creating the artwork Shu, Ha, Ri, collaborating artists Tomoko Nakazato and Setsuko Watanabe Morinoue’s experience was a deeply connected process—one that not only fostered understanding of each other but also inspired a continued commitment to creating art as a way of living harmoniously.
Artwork Pictured by Tomoko Nakazato and Setsuko Watanabe Morinoue, Shu, Ha, Ri, 2025, Ceramic, glazes and paper
Jill Backus and Dave Wheeler
How do two ceramic artists, working 100 miles apart with very different approaches, collaborate? For Jill Backus and Dave Wheeler, the answer was dialogue, experimentation, and a shared spirit of fun. The result is three ceramic stoneware works—striking combinations of forms that invite the viewer’s imagination to write the story.
Artwork Pictured by Jill Backus and Dave Wheeler, I got you, 2025, Ceramic stoneware
Amber Aguirre, Kate Jacobson, and Will Jacobson
Over 20 years of friendship, three artists, Amber Aguirre, Kate Jacobson, and Will Jacobson, turned a shared love of the Naked Raku technique into a powerful collaboration. “Collaborating felt natural, as we were united by a shared narrative vision for the piece.” —Collaborative Artist Statement
Their artwork featured in this exhibition blends their unique strengths in pottery, design, and sculpture to create something truly greater than the sum of its parts.
Artwork Pictured by Amber Aguirre, Kate Jacobson, and Will Jacobson, No Space for Tyranny (detail), 2025, Ceramic
Kainoa Makua and Stephen Freedman
“Embracing the collaborative mindset was instrumental in bringing this larger than life incarnation into being. Together, we were able to blend our vision and talents in ways that were both intuitive and artistically exponential to what we brought to the wheel as individual artists.” –Collaborative Artist Statement
Exhibiting Artists Kainoa Makua and Stephen Freedman joined forces to create this powerful tribute to Kanaloa, the Hawaiian god of the sea. Their collaboration brings Kainoa’s vision and ocean-inspired forms to life through Stephen’s mastery of large-scale, altered vessels. This stunning work honors one of Kanaloa’s most recognizable forms, the he‘e (octopus), celebrated for both intelligence and strength.
Artwork Pictured by Stephen Freedman and Kainoa Makua, Kanaloa, 2025, Ceramic
Kimberly Hagen and Shelby Smith
Exhibiting Artists Kimberly Hagen and Shelby Smith have shared a studio for over 18 years, each working in distinct styles. Smith explores the abstract, leaving interpretation open to the viewer, while Hagen focuses on living cycles, crafting exquisitely detailed narratives.
This exhibition marks their first direct collaboration in clay, presenting a series that explores the human mind as a landscape shaped by the senses. Each porcelain piece merges their unique practices: Smith’s structures create the forms and landscapes where Hagen’s insects and creatures play, revealing layered symbolism of fragile ecosystems and the human psyche.
Artwork Pictured by Kimberly Hagen and Shelby Smith, Renaissance Eggs of ‘Alalā (detail), 2025, porcelain, steel wire, ceramic pigments, adhesive
Mina Elison and Jake Boggs
“What can happen when we focus on process and working together? As we look into the future…collaboration is how we can come up with synergistic solutions to how we live, how we survive and how we thrive in our communities today.” —Mina Elison, Curator
Pairing up for the second time, co-curators, Mina Elison and Jake Boggs, envisioned Rhythms of Resonance as a way to bring together teams of accomplished ceramic artists in a unique collaborative project. Invited to step outside their individual practices and into a shared studio conversation, artists took time to examine process over product and, in doing so, discovered the rhythms that emerge when making together.
Mahalo Nui Loa
Mahalo Nui Loa: This exhibition and programs are made possible by the Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, the County of Hawaiʻi Waiwai Grant, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Hiroaki Elaine & Lawrence Kono Foundation, Hōlualoa Inn, and our community of individual donors.