Kainoa Gruspe

Kainoa Gruspe (b. 1995, Louisville, Kentucky; based in Honolulu) is a painter and sculptor whose layered works investigate value, duration, and absurdity within contemporary painting. He holds an MFA from the Slade School of Fine Art, London, and a BFA from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and teaches at UH Mānoa.

Approach. Gruspe pushes painting off the wall and into the landscape, keeping labor evident “so it is evident that someone or something was here.” He thickens house paint with cement, plaster, and joint compound, and incorporates rock, stone, and plant matter gathered from Hawaiian sites shaped by extraction — military bases, golf courses, resorts — pitting surface against symbol, innocence against labor.

Selected works & exhibitions. Gruspe is included in the 2026 Whitney Biennial, where his works “rescue” extracted materials into doorstops anchoring translucent paintings. Earlier projects include ʻOpihi for Liliʻuokalani (2024), Quilt Paintings (2023), and Big Line Drawing (2019), a 33-mile chalk line across Oʻahu made with Amber Khan.

Dive deeper
Website
Instagram
Whitney Biennial page
Interview (AMM)
Watch: Big Line Drawing