Anri Tsutsumi

"East Meets Southwest Meets Contemporary" I'm grateful that the world is full of inspiration. The music and poetry of everyday life inspires my work: musical melodies, a piece of conversation, the chatter of children, cinematography, fairy tales, literature, eclectic and tasty food, fresh colors and interesting shapes from nature, the stunning Southwest landscape, zoology, and biology. Whatever the source, my artistic antennae tune in to the creative stimuli and consistently transform them into visual images, which I then use to create paintings. After deciding the theme and color scheme of a painting, I add and subtract various elements from the canvas until the overall direction and feeling of the piece emerges (all while listening to my favorite music, of course!). My approach to the creative process is quite intuitive and spontaneous. I love using bright colors and high contrast in my work, as well as visual contradictions, like organic vs geometric, or simple vs complicated. I consider myself a hybrid of East and West. I am a happy mixture of Tokyo funk-and-groove, and New Mexico green chile-picante-salsa-vibes.The interaction between myself and the painting often feels like the back and forth of a Jazz improvisation. My paintings are visual poetry and optical music - playful, uplifting, and whimsical. Every single painting in my body of work has its own distinctive tune in my mind.

Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, Anri Tsutsumi was exposed to American sensibilities at an early age, by parents intrigued with Western Culture. The opportunity to study at an international school in Tokyo from age four to six also contributed to her first growing bicultural perspective. As a young woman, her fascination grew and she hoped to travel to the U.S. someday. In the 1990s, she had the opportunity to travel to New Mexico. Anri moved to Albuquerque to attend the University of New Mexico, to study Art and Native American culture. During a later stay in the U.S., Anri also attended the Massachusetts College of Art to study Art Education. These experiences cultivated her skills and knowledge of art and cemented her path as a contemporary abstract artist. Between studies, she worked many varied jobs, ranging from a motorcycle instructor and owner of an Italian restaurant to an educator of kindergarteners and children with disabilities, both in New Mexico and Tokyo. Anri's exploration of the world of contemporary art continues. Her unique bicultural background and life experiences are becoming progressively integrated and contribute to the evolution of her joyful and exuberant painting style. In recent years, some of the most significant influences on her art, as well as on the development of her identity as Japanese woman at home in Santa Fe New Nexico, have been the stunning landscapes and contrast of earth and sky in the colorful New Mexican desert.

2-D, Collage/Mixed Media, Painting (all materials)