Élan Vital has been in the international art scene for a very long time. Élan’s first break was being noticed by Andy Warhol who contracted him to build a light display for his psychedelic discotheque in NYC.
Élan then worked with a wide variety of artforms including wood and stone sculpture and eventually settled to Maui 1988. In 1989 he designed and created what is known now as “The Whale” a fixture of central Kihei. Nearly forty years later, you can still see “The Whale” directly across the street from Haui’s Life’s a Beach or even on Google maps as shown here.
After The Whale, Élan developed his signature process to create one of a kind paintings made from 35 to 70 layers of aerospace enamel and a variety of gemstones. He featured these paintings in his new gallery Élan Vital Galleries located in The Shops at Wailea mall in Wailea.
My work with With Élan Vital Galleries
In 2004 I was working as webmaster with a now defunct company; Digimax of Kihei, Maui. As their chief chief web developer they had me build the first version of the Élan Vital Galleries website among others. Digimax shut down quite suddenly and I reached out to Élans business manager and let them know I had been building their website and associated products. I finished their website at no cost to illustrate my commitment and they contracted me for website maintenance, magazine ads, and yearly calendars.
Eventually I came to host their website and manage all their technical considerations online. I work with them still on occasion, help them with digital newsletters and keep the website up to date with changes in location. I also continue to manage their google businesses page
The magazine ads I composed for Élan Vital Galleries appeared in local high end monthly’s for the Wailea tourist crowd including Maui Visitor, Guest Informant – a hardcover magazine that was installed in most of the hotel rooms in Wailea and Ka’anapali. In this decade I composed ads for Élan in Pacific Air Museum and Palm Springs Art Magazine.
