Honolulu Museum of Art - great food for the stomach, less for the eye

The highlight of this Museum is it's cafe and restaurant rather than the works of art.  The non-Hawaiian part of the collection is interesting if limited, whilst the Hawaiian works are largely disappointing.  It's unfortunate that the captions state that the works are displayed for aesthetic reasons and that to explore cultural significance patrons should go to the Bishop Museum.  The special exhibitions are more rewarding and maybe this is were the Museum's strength lies.

"Artists of Hawai'i 2015", "Auguste Rodin: The Human Experience" and "Feast of Fools: The Triptych Paintings of Masami Teraoka" illustrate the Museum's breadth of ambition.  The former a competitive exhibition of contemporary works by local artists that is pleasing in both its range of works and subjects.  By contrast the Rodin sculptures are classical and also well explained through informative captioning that was missing elsewhere.  In "Feast of Fools" Masami Teraoka combines the style of religious triptych paintings with the explicitness of Japanese Shunga artwork to make a point about Catholicism and female sexuality - whilst amusing, the works don't score many political points and ignore the serious issues of child abuse amongst the priesthood.  

The Honolulu Museum of Art is housed in an interesting building of Hawaiian-Japanese style with the galleries opening off a series of shaded courtyards.  Worth a visit for the restaurant that does light meals well, but go check the events and temporary exhibition programme for artistic interest. 

Rodin