It might seem strange that Honolulu born and bred Chad Hasegawa has dedicated his works of art to the grizzly bear. As a current San Francisco-based artist, however, Hasegawa has since grown attached to California's state animal, paying homage to the fearless creatures that once inhabited and refused to back down against settlers back in the day. Hasegawa, who last showed work at last year's SCOPE Art Fair during Art Basel Miami Beach, will open "Elite Rebels" at White Walls in San Francisco this Saturday.
Similar to the paintings Hasegawa showed at SCOPE Art Fair in Miami last December, his "Elite Rebels" works are portraits of grizzly bears rendered in staggering blocks of black. Though many of his grizzlies are shown against a backdrop of vibrant color, some are displayed against plain white, too. It also features his more abstract depictions of trees, water, and other things from nature as well.
Cool fact to know about Hasegawa's works? Of his portraits, all except one have been named after his friends who moved from Hawaii to San Francisco. The sole outlier portrays and is named after his father.
The show opens March 15 and will be on view until April 5, 2014.
