April 2022 Art Exhibition

Cosmo 

"Ethiopian Tribes"

Profile of Cosmo Hanawa 

Born in Tokyo and grew up in California, she returned to Japan after high school. She currently lives in Yokohama. Always interested in drawing, she majored in art at a Junior College, where her study focus was mainly painting and the philosophy of “Human and Art”. After graduating, Cosmo continues to create, experimenting with different mediums - such as crafts, accessories, oil & acrylic painting - to name a few. She solo-travels to new places to experience the different vibration of cultures, which gives her hints to new ways of expression.

How She Paints

Lately she is focused on acrylic painting. First, she playfully covers the canvas with random colors, leaving the brushstrokes and scratches. Then, she sketches on the paint, adds in details, then uses shade and light to bring out the existence of the motif. She often uses bold primary colors. If the painting doesn’t look right, she sometimes turns it upside down and starts the painting over. You can sometimes see the remains of what was painted earlier, which gives the art a more colorful and bright impression.

Why She Started Painting The Suri/Surma People

The subject of the portraits are of the Suri or Surma tribes, which are agro-pastoral people, living in southwestern Ethiopia. Through the paintings you can see that they live in harmony with the nature. When she first saw their photos about five years ago, she was astonished by the beauty of their face paint and lifestyle, so she started painting them to feel more of it. Their pure facial expressions and figure had a huge impact on her, especially since she was feeling lost in life and struggling through some difficult health issues. The facial expressions of the people can be fierce, but it gave her comfort and confidence. Some say they feel the strong existence and emotion in the eyes through her paintings.

Other Works

Other than portraits, she paints landscapes, still-life and also does illustration. Her personality of straightforwardness, randomness, and playfulness definitely shines through in all of her works.

Artist Profile (日本語）

こすも 

東京で生まれ、カリフォルニアで育ち、現在は横浜在住。絵を描くことに幼い頃から興味があり、芸術学科を卒業。主に油絵制作と「人間と芸術」を哲学的に学んだ。卒業後もあらゆる芸術表現を試している。一人旅に頻繁に行くが、これは地球上の地域や国・文化の様々な感覚を味わうためや、違った視点と表現方法を身に付けるためであることにしておこう。

描くとき

最近はアクリル画制作に集中している。まずカンヴァスを鮮やかな色彩で埋めていき、ランダムに選んだ色をいくつも加え、ブラシストロークや筆の跳ねなどはあえて残す。色で埋まったら、その上に筆でモティーフをスケッチし、ディテールや陰影を加えていく。納得のいかないものになると、絵を逆さまにして、すでに塗られた色の上に新たに色を加えて描きはじめる。作品によってだが、よく見ると奥のほうに前の絵の残りが見えるが、それが深みを与える効果となっている。

スリ族・スルマ族を描いたきっかけ

今回の題材であるスリ族・スルマ族は、エチオピアに住む少数派民族である。５年前に、作品のモチーフを求めて祖母の倉庫で見つけたブリタニカ事典をぱらぱらとめくって”Z”のページで見つけた言葉”Zambia”がきっかけだ。”Zambia”のムブティ族を調べているうちにスルマ族と繋がった。彼らのことを調べればしらべるほどその美しさに引き込まれていった。彼らの力強い、純粋な眼差しは、人生の中で迷い苦しんでいた画家本人にとって大きな印象と励ましになった。

他の作品

アフリカ民族のみならず他の肖像画も描き、静物画や風景画、イラストを描くこともある。彼女の制作法のポイントは、考えすぎず直感で描くことだ。単純で、ランダムで、遊び心ある性格が、制作に時々現れている。

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