In August 2025, as part of the 15th Annual Abstract Only exhibition, selected artworks from Shanghai Abstract Artists Association will be shown alongside works from Hawai’i abstract artists in this popular annual exhibition. 

 

Hawai’i artists accepted into the 2025 Abstract Only juried exhibition will then have the opportunity for their artwork to be selected for an exhibit in Shanghai, China in December 2025. 

 

In partnership with the Shanghai Abstract Artists Association and the Putuo Art Museum, a branch of the Liu Haisu Art Museum, this collaboration will facilitate an exchange of both artwork and artists in traveling between Shanghai and Hawai’i.  Artists will have the chance to share time and space with those from different cultural backgrounds, gaining new insights and perspectives.

 

“It is deeply meaningful to hold an abstract art exchange exhibition in two places with such different cultures and artistic discourse. Art knows no borders, and artistic wealth should belong to everyone,” adds Zhao Kangwei, President of Shanghai Association for Foreign Exchange and Xu Demin, President of Shanghai Abstract Painting Society.

 

Abstract Only has historically been an annual international multimedia exhibit that exclusively showcases non-representational artwork. Abstract works communicate without the use of any recognizable figures or objects. Because of the special nature of this collaborative exchange with Shanghai artists, the 2025 Abstract Only Exhibition will be open only to Hawaiʻi residents and kamaʻāina.