Introducing Abstract Collab: Kristie Fujiyama Kosmides, Jake Shimabukuro, and Tracey Niimi
You know how much I love sharing artists stories, and have I got a story for you.
The name Kristie Fujiyama Kosmides may be familiar to you since I’ve been working with her for over a decade now. You may even have her work in your collection or have spotted her new triptych as part of the permanent collection at ‘Ulu at the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai.
Every now and then, you resonate with someone and, as they say, “make beautiful music together.” In this case, it’s art and music, and while it’s not about romance, it is about kinship and community.
In 2018, Kristie was commissioned to create five large paintings for the Hilo International Airport, her hometown. The nearly 11’ h x 19’ long paintings would greet people as they come to the island, and Kristie felt a bit daunted by the responsibility. She’d been wanting to do a collaborative project with another artist in another media for a while and thought this would be the right one—something so large could use another voice and point of view— so she started telling her friends.
As the world changed in 2020, Kristie was still trying to figure out what she would paint for this project. She began working with a talented photographer, Tracey Niimi, whose wedding photography business had ground to a halt, and encouraged him to refocus on supporting local businesses with videography. He took to it like a duck to water and did some great videos for Kristie, me, and countless others. Tracey has a real talent for documenting, bringing out the best in his subjects, and editing. When Kristie mentioned her collaboration idea, Tracey thought he knew just the right person.
Tracey had been fortunate enough to get to know his childhood idol—a man whose skills and kindness helped form his love of music—Jake Shimabukuro.
For those who don’t know him, Jake is the ‘ukulele virtuoso who travels the world doing solo tours and playing with some of the greats (most recently a new album with Mick Fleetwood—but also Jimmy Buffet, Bette Midler, Kenny Loggins, Ziggy Marley, Yo-Yo Ma, and many others). Seeing him in concert is pure joy—his story-telling and the unbelievable blur of his hand as his mastery of his four strings brings out the most incredible music one has ever heard from an ‘ukulele. His original compositions are beautiful, thoughtful, and transportive, and you can see him on the island when he plays at the Kahilu Theatre in Waimea and the Palace Theater in Hilo (book tickets early—they sell out fast).
Tracey introduced Kristie and Jake via a Zoom call in 2020. Jake, who lives on O‘ahu when not on globe-trotting tours, was feeling pretty down during the isolation—a far cry from theaters full of fans to perform for. He and Kristie immediately hit it off—kindred spirits whose passion for creating and sharing the creative process inspired a new idea.
What if they all toured the island together, gathering inspiration, and Jake wrote a song about it that Kristie would paint to and that song could be shared at the airport with her paintings? And Tracey would make a music video for Jake by filming, directing, and producing the creative process along the way. (After all, he’s the organized one and would select all the locations they’d visit.)
As they began, Kristie encouraged Jake to get his hands dirty and paint on her huge canvases meant for the airport. She would layer over them, but his mark would always be a part of the piece, and for Kristie, that initial layer inspires everything that follows.
Jake was struck by the rhythm of Kristie’s brush strokes on the canvas, the sounds the various tools made, and the layers of paint each piece took. Inspired, he started recording his riffs, adding layers of recordings, and playing with the rhythm, creating multilayered songs.
Kristie, inspired by the live music, continued to paint, following the rhythm that Jake created—its highs, lows, energetic speed, and slow melodies.
Tracey filmed their interactions, the moments of inspiration they each found in one another’s work, directing and documenting this special collaboration. In the end, he turned it into a music video for Jake’s original song, “Eyes of the ʻIʻiwi,” which chronicles Kristie and Jake's journey together, collaborating to create these mammoth paintings, as well as the incredible music that was inspired by their experience, and includes installing the works in the Hilo International Airport in 2023.
Jake has been sharing the video during his concerts recently—a dream come true for Tracey, who grew up as Jake’s biggest fan. (It’s one of the things I love about this trio—they are each masters in their own right, they put in the daily practice, and yet they take the time to lift one another up.)
Inspired by their experience together, the airport project marked the beginning of Abstract Collab, their vessel for sharing their creative collaborations. Since then, they have done some group events—encouraging others to tap into their creativity and paint to Jake’s music, guided by Kristie. But for them, the real magic happens when the three of them meet up in Kristie’s studio in Hilo or Jake’s studio in Honolulu and play—Jake on the ‘ukulele, Kristie on canvas, and Tracey behind the camera (though they occasionally switch it up).
They each share an awareness of the Japanese proverb, Ichigo Ichie—meaning this moment that we have will never come again—and they make the most of their moments together.
And something beautiful comes out of it. A new painting, new music, and a video that documents the creation of both. Each painting represents the moment it was created in, signed by the trio, and includes Jake's music and Tracey’s creation video. It’s an incredible offering into the creative process and one of the things I love most about their work. They invite us in and deepen our appreciation for each of them and for collaboration in the process.
These pieces haven’t been made available for sale before or shown as a body of work, and through a series of serendipitous events, I’m honored to share them with you.
Introducing Kristie Fujiyama Kosmides + Abstract Collab featuring Jake Shimabukuro & Tracey Niimi.
In this show you’ll discover original works created by the trio (which include the artwork, creation video and music), as well as Kristie’s latest abstract works influenced by her experiences, and even a couple of Jake Shimabukuro original paintings inspired by his time with Kristie. It’s sure to be a sensory experience!
