Chiyomi Longo

CHIYOMI LONGO: Born: 1937 in Hyogo Prefecture

Chiyomi painted as a young woman when living on Kauai. After a distinguished career raising a large family, and many years being a student of Cha-do Tea Ceremony, she returned to art school. Chiyomi earned BFA and MFA degrees from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1995.

Of her paintings, Chiyomi says they 'represent my desire to communicate a bridging of opposites: my life experiences in my native Japan and my adoptive America. There is also a bridging between the rhythm of nature and the tempo of technology the inner spirit and outer form. My approach to painting is a melding of methods, past and present. In this body of work I have built layers of a variety of materials, techniques and forms to reflect the divergence of our culture. There is no preconceived pattern, for in content and style I paint as I live, my actions growing from some inner mysterious source. For me the freely shaped forms suggest the freedom of nature. The geometric patterns expose a skeletal structure, restating my desire to unite and equalize different influences.

In her artwork Chiyomi has incorporated such themes as circles, Japanese kanji characters, and fluid strokes inspired by the flowing sounds of shakuhachi and other music. The palette is usually limited to earth tones, with a strong interplay of light and dark. Varied textures result from combining materials and techniques, so there is a subtle depth and richness to the nonrepresentational paintings. The viewer is drawn into the composition discovering power, serenity, and movement. In each work, we sense the skills of an accomplished artist joined with the strength and drive of a mature woman with an insatiable desire to
look to the future in expressing herself.