Click the bench icon to see Mary's bench concept

Bio of Mary Mitsuda

Mary Mitsuda received her BFA from the University of Hawaii-Manoa in 1976.

Her work has been exhibited in Hawaii, nationally and internationally and is included in many private, public and corporate collections, including the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, The Contemporary Museum, First Hawaiian Bank, Persis Corporation, Neiman Marcus, Bank of Hawaii, Servco Pacific, Hokua, and Japan Airlines.

Though she has focused primarily on painting since 1990, she works in all media and for the Benchmark project, designed and screenprinted a series of lavalava or pareu – multipurpose lengths of fabric which can be used as a garment, a carryall, or a groundcloth on which to rest. The design incorporates a repeated “bench” glyph and four squares denoting a bench footprint, or benchmarks.

This bench was inspired by the beautifully spatial and abstract language of Hawaiian kapa and by the simple pleasures of sitting on the ground.