Living in New York for the past six years, I’ve been creating art for more than ten years. When I first started painting, for the first two years I only painted the human form and portraits. I was drawing and painting everyday, looking for something through capturing the human form, perhaps looking for myself. Through this daily practice, my skills improved greatly, and I began to question what I wanted to describe through the human form, what concepts and feelings I wanted to capture through my art.

One day I suddenly developed an interest in abstraction, but without the comforts of reality, without recognizing myself in the process, I was very confused about how to proceed. Since abstraction is very personal, my imagination and sensitivities became unchained, and while initially confusing, abstraction offered a certain freedom I came to appreciate.

When I began creating abstraction, at first I focused on people, how they are sometimes strong, sometimes weak, and I was drawn to the concepts of warmth and kindness. Very slowly through observing everyday life, from looking at the sky, trees, flowers, birds and bugs, I concentrated more on what surrounded me. Opening myself up to nature brought me closer to the solution of what I wanted to communicate through my artwork.

I am most interested in communications between people and becoming comfortable with others and my natural surroundings. The most important concept in my artwork is how I and others can feel excited. I aim to create paintings that make people feel excited about being alive, because if people try to understand each other, it produces positive things. I am always thankful for these connections.

- Kimiko Fukuoka