Ian Kuali’i is a multi-disciplinary artist born in Orange County California, raised in Maui Hawaii and currently residing in the New York City Metro Area. Ian’s creative process blends the contrasting elements of very loose graffiti writing technics with extremely detailed hand cut paper and collaged found materials to create unique compositions. His work is a balance between the rough and delicate, demonstrating the process of destroying to create. His art is predominantly influenced by his ancestral ties to the indigenous people of the Southwest United States and Hawaii, as well as masonic symbolism, mysticism, global politics and themes of urban decay. Through out his career, Ian has assisted such artists as Doze Green, Carlos “Mare139” Rodriguez and WK Interact in large scale projects and installations across the country.
The idea came about from genetic whispers, deeper research to what those whispers were saying and finally trying to manifest it visually in a basic veiled way that would help both elevate the craft of hand cut paper and mean something to me. Oh and the art trades, can’t forget that motivating element.”
– Ian Kuali’i
