Henry Bianchini

Henry Bianchini was born in 1935 in San Diego, California and is the oldest of six siblings. One of his brothers, Victor Bianchini, is a notable retired judge living in San Diego. In 1965, Henry Bianchini married Diane Denton. Soon after, they built a 30-foot trimaran, "Island Dancer".[2] Henry Bianchini sailed on that boat for seven years, making his way to Hawaii. After arriving in August 1969, he witnessed the Mauna Ulu Eruption, which gave Henry a unique sense of place.[3] After sailing throughout the islands, he and Diane settled in Opihikao in the Puna District of Hawai'i in 1971. Henry and Diane have three children, Theo, Frank and Allegra.[4]

Henry Bianchini uses a variety of processes, including casting, welding, carving, painting and printmaking. His works utilize a number of materials, including native Hawai'ian wood, stone, concrete, steel and casting in bronze. In 1984, he set up a foundry at his studio in Puna, and created a number of sculptures there, including bronze and glass, using the lost wax process.

"King Kalakaua"; sculpture created by Henry Bianchini.

In 1988, the Hawaiʻi Groundwater and Geothermal Resources Center (HGGRC) provided an Energy Extension Service Geothermal Grant to Henry Bianchini for a Silica Bronze Project.[5][6] That same year, Bianchini's bronze statue of King David Kalakaua was dedicated on August 6 in Hilo's Kalakaua Park.[7][8]

Henry Bianchini's first "one-man show" was in the Hilo Public Library's main lobby area in 1974.[9] Bianchini was featured in a 40-year retrospective at the East Hawai'i Cultural Center in 2010.[10][11] Afterwards, he donated one of the exhibition's sculptures, "Involuntary Journey", to the Hilo Public Library.

Photographer Brett Weston and Henry Bianchini were featured together in the Spectrum Hawaii documentary "Light in Art"(1989),[12] and one of Weston's photographs of a Bianchini sculpture was included in a limited edition book called "Brett Weston At One Hundred".[13]

Key artistic influences include Hawaiian art, culture, mythology and modernism.

• Ho'okamalani (1985), Kaiser Permanente Moanalua Medical Center, Oahu, Hawaii; cast bronze (60" H)[1][14]
• King David Kalakaua (1988), Kalakaua Park, Hilo, Hawai'i; cast bronze (57" H)[15][16][14]
• The Dance (1990), Grand Wailea Resort and Spa, Maui, Hawaii; cast bronze (72" H)[17][14]
• Enlightening the Spirit (Ho`ona`auao) (1999), Haaheo Elementary School, Hilo, Hawai'i; stainless steel and concrete[18][14]
• Strength in Diversity (2001), Ernest Bowen De Silva Elementary School, Hilo, Hawai'i; cast concrete and cast glass[19][14]
• A Plea For Peace (2013), University Synagogue, Brentwood, CA[20][14]
• Involuntary Journey (2013), Hilo Public Library, Hilo, Hawai'i; aluminium and stainless steel (74" H)[9][21][22]
• Hokua (To Lift Up) (2017), Mililani Middle School, Cafeteria, Mililani, Oahu, Hawaii; bronze and concrete (11' H)[23][24][25]
• Ho‘omalule ‘Upena Kiloi' or Metamorphosis of a Net Fisherman (2021), Isle Beach Park, near Liliʻuokalani Park and Gardens, Hilo, Hawai'i; cast bronze (57" H)[26]

• Official website