Montage Kapalua Bay Team
Front row: Silla Kaina, Pegge Hopper, Nathan Paerels, Lisa Hatem, Venus Bravo Yi
Back row: Kirsten Robinson, Robert Hoonan, Eric Littlejohn, Robert Comstock, Richard Holtzman (PHOTO: Pacific Dream Photography)
Montage Kapalua Bay celebrated local artist Pegge Hopper on July 22nd as she unveiled a new exclusive work for the resort. Renowned across Hawaii and internationally for her colorful paintings of Island women, Hopper revealed the original charcoal and watercolor drawing at an intimate reception alongside her inspiration for the piece – Montage Cultural Ambassador Silla Kaina, a native Hawaiian who brings the soul of the islands to Montage guests by teaching the culture and customs of her homeland.
Family and friends of both Hopper and Kaina were in attendance, along with Montage executives including: Richard A. Holtzman, Vice President, Managing Director; David Hoffman, Resort Manager; and Lisa Hatem, Director of Residence Sales. Montage residence owners and local proprietors also joined the celebration.
The commission marks the one-year anniversary of Montage Kapalua Bay’s opening and Montage’s commitment to honoring the art, culture and customs of Hawaii – be it through Silla’s teaching of traditional lei making, ukulele and hula or by showcasing original, local pieces like Hopper’s that evoke the unique spirit and history of the land.
The drawing will become part of the resort’s permanent collection, joining several other Hopper paintings originally created for its predecessor, the historic Kapalua Bay Hotel.
“We had a desire to help educate those unfamiliar with Pegge’s work and the significance of it, and were also inspired to add to the collection,” said Holtzman. “We found ourselves very enthusiastic about her charcoal drawings highlighted by watercolor, and had the idea to use the image of someone very special to us, our own Silla Kaina.
Along with Pegge’s art, Silla is the common denominator here, the common thread that went through the transition from the Kapalua Bay Hotel to the resort’s rebirth as a Montage. She has brought all of us a lot of strength, inspiration and guidance and for that we’re all very grateful.”
Hopper studied painting at the Los Angeles Art Center College of Design. She moved to Honolulu in 1963 and was inspired to paint again after seeing old photographs of native Hawaiians at the State Archives. Her eponymous gallery opened in Honolulu’s historic Chinatown in 1983.
“I would like to thank the local people for allowing me to borrow their beauty for my paintings. I hope that I have done it as well as I possibly could. And to Silla, I hope I have done justice,” said Hopper. “I am not from the islands but I admire and feel a debt of gratitude to the Hawaiian image, to the Hawaiian people and women. I think of my paintings as androgynous. I want them to have strength, power and beauty.”