Caffe Vouto ( Empty cafe)

This painting by Bumpei Akaji, dated 1952, is entitled Caffe Vuotto. You can see the empty café, which the title refers to, presented in a very interesting way of painting.

Of course, Bumpei Akaji was a metalsmith, and like the repoussé work that he would do on copper, you see the whole painting covered with these almost dimple-like protrusions—like a hand-hammered look to the painting. It’s a very interesting way of combining media forms.

And of course, he was in Italy at the end of World War II. Even during the fighting, he was looking at Renaissance paintings and studying Italian works. He was, of course, very impressed by the metalwork in Italy, and later started to do metal work when he came back to Hawaii.

Caffe Vuotto is a very rare painting. There are very few paintings out there by Bumpei Akaji.

Bumpei Akaji (1921-2002) was an American sculptor born in Lawai on the island of Kauai. His passion for art remained unwavering throughout his life, even during his service in World War II. He was drafted into the 100th Infantry Battalion in 1943, and deployed to Italy, where he would make time to study paintings and sculptures despite the challenges of war. Initially a painter, Akaji became one of the first students to graduate with a Master of Fine Arts in painting from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. By the 1960s, however, he shifted focus to sculpture, using scrap metal to create his pieces. Akaji was also a member of the Metcalf Chateau, a collective of seven Asian-American artists with ties to Honolulu.