Fine Art by “KEWE”

As a Hawaiian Growing up in the Mainland, not everyone could pronounce Eric’s surname, “Keawekane”. At some point friends started calling him “KEWE” pronounced like the fruit. So he started signing all his artwork “KEWE” with long symbols above the “E’s” to help people pronounce it… Haole Style… Not Hawaiian.

KEWE’s paintings and ceramic work all reflect his deep connection and passion for the ocean and island/surf culture. His paintings can be loosely categorized into surfscapes, graphic/paint combos, and aggressive, heavily gestural pieces (that he does when he wants to “cut loose”). His ceramics consist of tiki carvings and pottery accented by patterns derived from authentic Polynesian works. Because his work reflects but doesn’t exactly duplicate these influences he classifies it as NeoPolynesian.