Born in Honolulu in 1944, Rocky Jensen’s cultural foundation was shaped by time with his grandparents in Lāʻie, Oʻahu, and Pūkoʻo, Molokaʻi. After finishing school in Los Angeles, he returned to Hawaiʻi in 1968, studied at Leeward Community College, and took art classes at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. In 1970, he illustrated Men of Ancient Hawaiʻi and became a founding figure in the contemporary Native Hawaiian arts movement. Together with his wife Lucia, he established Hale Nauā III in 1975, the first Native Hawaiian arts organization made to support Hawaiian artists and protect the Hawaiian art form and its contemporary expressions. Hale Nauā III organized significant exhibitions, including the first contemporary Hawaiian art exhibit held at Honolulu Hale, AMFAC Gallery, Bishop Museum. While he struggled to find local recognition and faced a lack of support for Kānaka Maoli art, Rocky Jensen became one of the first Hawaiian contemporary artists to gain national and international attention, exhibiting at venues such as the Museum für Völkerkunde in Vienna in 1978. Later in his career, he received major commissions, including work for the U.S. Army Museum and ʻImiloa Astronomy Center. By the early 2000s, he had settled into a quieter life on Hawaiʻi Island with his wife and daughter, Natalie Mahina Jensen, who is also an artist.

Rocky passed away suddenly in September 2023. He is featured posthumously in the Wahi Pana project, where we honor his significant sculptural contributions at Fort DeRussy. The kiʻi also stand as a testament to Jensen’s legacy, triumph and persistence in bringing Kānaka Maoli art and artists into long-overdue recognition. The project, co-presented with HT25, showcases a range of his works, including several unfinished pieces, on display at Capitol Modern from February 5 to May 5, 2025.