Luis Kaiulani

Luis Kaiulani

Luis Kaiulani builds sculpture the way coastlines take shape: through the steady meeting of two very different forces. Working mainly in aluminum, and sometimes wood, he creates large-scale abstract works that hold their own in fountains, parks, hospitals, and public plazas across the country.

A Sculptor Shaped by Two Worlds

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1963, Kaiulani grew up surrounded by the natural rhythm of the islands: forest light, open coastline, and the constant motion of the Pacific Ocean. That upbringing gave him a lasting sense of balance and scale. His Venezuelan heritage brought something else entirely: an urgency and warmth he traces directly to his Latin American roots. Kaiulani has spent more than twenty years letting these two inheritances meet in the same piece, and often in the same weld.

He is self-taught. Over that time, he has built his visual language around two simple forms, circles and lines, returning to them again and again for how much they can still express. Surrealism, Cubism, and abstraction all shaped his eye, but the results are unmistakably his own: bold, colorful, and built to command a space without overwhelming it. He describes his work as a reflection of nature's steady push toward growth, shaped by learning, experience, and contribution.

From Idea to Installation

Kaiulani's process starts long before he picks up a welding torch. Every piece begins with its future site: how visitors will move around it, how light will hit it through the day, how it should read from across a room or across a park. Only after that groundwork does he begin cutting, welding, anchoring, and painting the piece by hand, then installing it himself to make sure the finished work matches what he pictured for that exact location.

That hands-on approach defines his practice. To Kaiulani, welding is not a step that happens before the art. It is the art, in the same way painting a canvas is inseparable from the canvas itself. Every stage, from the first cut to the final coat of paint, is where the piece actually comes together.

A National Public Art Record

Over more than two decades, Kaiulani's sculptures have found homes in private collections and public spaces across the country and abroad:

• White Cross Lines, a 96-by-122-inch welded aluminum sculpture, anchors a fountain at Villa Tartaruga, an oceanfront resort within the Punta Cana Resort & Club in the Dominican Republic.
• Several of his sculptures were installed in 2021 at the Wildhorse apartment complex in Chesterfield, Missouri.
• Yellow Flat Line and Red Cross-Line are permanent installations at the Flossmoor Sculpture Gardens in Flossmoor, Illinois. Kaiulani built both from a single continuous line, a process that took weeks of welding and sanding to complete.
• A sculpture from his Trèfle series stands at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio.
• In 2023, Miami Dade College's West Campus featured Yellow Cross Line, a 96-inch aluminum sculpture from his Lines series, as part of the Persistence Sculpture Exhibition.
• Since February 2024, Big Red Clover, a 120-inch welded aluminum sculpture, has held a lakeside position at the Miramar Cultural Center in Florida as part of the Artscape exhibition.

Frequently Asked Questions

What materials does Luis Kaiulani use?

Kaiulani works mainly in aluminum, sometimes combined with wood. He welds, cuts, sands, and paints each piece by hand, then installs it himself so the finished sculpture fits the exact space it was designed for.

Where can I see Luis Kaiulani's public art?

His sculptures are installed at Villa Tartaruga in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; the Wildhorse apartment complex in Chesterfield, Missouri; the Flossmoor Sculpture Gardens in Flossmoor, Illinois; University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio; Miami Dade College's West Campus; and the Miramar Cultural Center in Florida.

Is Luis Kaiulani's work available for commission?

Yes. Carousel Fine Art works with clients on both private collection pieces and large-scale public or corporate commissions. Reach out to a gallery advisor to discuss a custom installation.

What is Luis Kaiulani known for?

He's known for large-scale abstract aluminum sculptures built around line and circle forms, and for public art installations that are designed specifically for the site where they'll stand.