Aldo Luongo |
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From the day I was born, Luongo recalls, everyone seemed to have an idea of what I should be. My father wanted me to be a businessman and professional soccer player, same as he. My mother wanted me to become a concert pianist, and my favorite uncle wanted me to become a painter. Funny how life unfolds.Born to Italian parents, Aldo was raised in Argentina. While growing up he was exposed to several of the arts including painting and playing the piano. But his true love when young was playing soccer. Painting and soccer are like walking to me. So natural. In fact, after graduating from the Academy of Fine Art in Buenos Aires, Aldo played professional soccer for the New York Cosmos. A few relocations, injuries, and a stint as a jewelry designer later, the artist completed the circle by returning to painting. A look at Aldo Luongo’s work tempts one to say, Of course, he has to paint. It’s fundamental to the man’s essence. And so it is. Flatteringly reviewed as a Post-Impressionist by the New York Times, Luongo confesses that at first he was annoyed at being categorized. However, since many of his favorite painters were Impressionists he also understood the sincerity of the compliment. Every artist adapts the best qualities of his favorite artists, but I’m always conscious of capturing bits of life, of reality, of situations, of people. It’s my space in time. Leaving behind the gentle utopias of Impressionism, Aldo captures his subjects in a more direct way. I attack a canvas like I play soccer – with vigor. Soccer is my counterpoint to painting. While painting, I’m confined, lonely, enmeshed in emotions and self-doubt. Then comes the sweat and focus of a really good game and I feel whole again. Life is a matter of balance. Aldo Luongo and his art evoke true emotion with every canvas. He describes his work as possessing strength, vibrancy, and feeling. For him the real journey is told by Aldo’s most recognizable image, Aguilucho or The Hawk, a self portrait of the artist, himself, with the character of the ultimate old man, my future self. What makes the Hawk so compelling? Look at the eyes – they mirror the soul of a man who has lived a rich, full life and still sees joy in every moment. They are the eyes that create the canvases of Aldo Luongo. Aldo Luongo has earned both critical praise and celebrity collectors. Edward G. Robinson, Anthony Quinn, Kevin Costner, Dionne Warwick, Bill Cosby, Yul Brynner, Charlton Heston, and Rob Reiner, to name a few, have been touched by Aldo’s imagery. In addition, Aldo was named official artist for The Olympic Committee at the 1988 Summer Games, has a commissioned work which is displayed in The Kennedy Museum in Boston, two years in a row was selected to participate in The White House Easter Egg Hunt, where his painted "eggs" are now on display at the world-renowned Smithsonian Museum. |
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