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Ian Kualiʻi

Ian Kualiʻi is a self-taught interdisciplinary artist of Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) and Mescalero Apache ancestry working in murals, large-scale hand-cut paper, and site-specific installation. Ian fluidly merges urban contemporary art with his ancestral iconography and history, drawing from occult symbolism, Indigenous politics, and Native Hawaiian cultural practices. From a single sheet of paper using only an x-acto blade as his tool, Ian’s portraits and compositions are carefully rendered in hand-cut paper, blending boldly geometric traditional patterns with delicate lenticular linework. Ian describes his creative approach as “a meditative process of destroying to create.”

The artist currently has a studio practice in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and is sought after for his monumental installations, touring exhibitions, and innovative cut paper pieces. With a career spanning over two decades, his works have been featured by Wall\Therapy, UrbanArt Biennale 2017, Universal Pictures, Art Basel Miami, National Museum of Mexican Art, National Hispanic Cultural Center, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Moniker Art Fair UK, Millicent Rogers Museum, Heard Museum, and more. Ian has also received prominent residencies and fellowships with numerous institutions, including the Red Bull House of Art, de Young Museum, Hawaiʻi State Foundation, Institute of American Indian Arts, School for Advanced Research, and the National Parks Arts Foundation. In 2021, Ian Kualiʻi received his Knighthood with the Royal Order of the Crown of Hawaiʻi, furthering his dedication to representing his Native Hawaiian community and culture both at home in Hawaiʻi and abroad.