KGMB News Segment on the Peggy Chun Gallery

See the video here:

http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/15863/40/

Here is the transcript:

Dream Comes True with Gallery Opening
Written by Terry Hunter - thunter@kgmb9.com
April 03, 2009 07:19 PM


Peggy Chun, the Hawaii artist who passed away last November, always wanted to have her own gallery.

Thanks to friends and family, the "Peggy Chun Gallery" is having its grand opening Friday night.

Even though she was diagnosed with A.L.S. in the Spring of 2002, the beloved artist, Peggy Chun, continued to paint, first with her left hand when the debilitating disease claimed her right; then with a brush held in her mouth, and finally, when she was almost totally paralzyed, with a computer that followed the motion of her eyes.

Her courageous, fun loving spirit inspired many people including "Peg's legs," the volunteers who cared for her when she could no longer take care of herself.

The artist herself is no longer with us, but her dream of having a gallery has come alive on Nu'uanu Ave.

"We've been working really hard to bring Peggy's spirit and her joy for life and her whimsical personality into everything here," said daughter-in-law Kimi Chun.

It starts with the pig sculpture in the window, made with her son Eric.

"She has such a range of different mediums for sure. But also just her subject matter. There's something for everyone, from the whimsical and funny to the Hawaiiana, nostalgia," Kimi said.

The work ranges from high end originals to ten dollar prints.

"It was one of her philosophies that she wanted art to be available to everybody no matter what they have in their pocketbook," Kimi said.

No matter what A.L.S. did to her, Peggy Chun found a way to create art.

These "nose" paintings are a good example.

"These are ones that she worked on with her caregivers. And she would direct the way they would apply the pain to her nose. And she would have fun telling them which direction to go. It was hilarious and wonderful and of course just the magic of water color," Kimi said.

Now Peggy Chun's legacy lives on in a place she would love.

"Her customers, they always became her friends, and that's something we believe in and want to continue here," Kimi said.