Born in Honolulu, HI, 1925
Honolulu School of Art, Honolulu, HI, 1946-1948
Brooklyn Museum School of Art, Brooklyn, NY, 1950-1951
Died in Honolulu, HI, 2015
ROBERT KOBAYASHI (1925-2015) traveled to New York City from Hawaii following WWII to study at the Brooklyn Museum School. After exhibiting with the AbEx artists at the Camino and Brata galleries, Kobayashi stepped away to explore materials and techniques informed by his personal history and immediate surroundings. In 1978, the artist purchased a building in Little Italy, transforming the former butcher shop, Moe’s Meat Market, into a studio/gallery. There, Kobayashi drew his creative energy and materials from the neighborhood, exhibiting a mixed media style dubbed “clouage,” composed of repurposed ceiling tin and metal cans. His work can be found in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, NYC; the Brooklyn Museum; and the Honolulu Museum of Art, among others.