Biography from American Sport Art Museum and Archives:
| Please note: Artists not classified as American in our database may have limited biographical data
compared to the extensive information about American artists.
For the past 25 years, Romantic impressionist Aldo Luongo has won
critical acclaim from around the globe for his unique ability to
express love, passion and sport in a brilliant and distinctive
Post-Impressionist style. Says Luongo, "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." For
Luongo's unique approach and style in his artistic endeavors, he was
selected as the American Sport Art Museum and Archives' 1999 Sport
Artist of the Year.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Luongo was an official artist of the
1980 and 1996 Olympic Games in the United States. He has a
passion for life that is evident in his work and the way he
lives. The "romantic impressionist" painter uses the canvas to
capture little pieces of ordinary life. He mostly paints the
human figure, capturing people in their natural surroundings and in
everyday situations. He has also painted many works of athletes
in competition, in sports from basketball to soccer to track and
field. In a unique fashion found only in Luongo, he captures the
athletes in motion in their sport.
Though Luongo is considered one of the world's great contemporary
artists, his path has not been narrow and direct. He entered the
Academy of Fine Arts in Argentina at fourteen, but his childhood dream
was to follow in his father's footsteps as a professional soccer
player. This dream was actually fulfilled when he played for the
New York Cosmos. His career was cut short, however, due to injury.
Luongo finally settled in and started painting full time in 1968. He
created 30 paintings, an extraordinary number, that year. Since then,
he has become widely accepted and critically admired. He has
twice been chosen to paint eggs for the White House Easter egg hunt,
which are now a part of the Smithsonian collection.
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." The Hawk is a personage who has evolved through time and was designed as a homage to his father. In each of his paintings, The Hawk
is a symbol of a spiritually rich life. He was never meant to
resemble Luongo's father physically but to personify his spirit. The Hawk
as described the artist, has only ten or 15 minutes left on the clock
of life but continues to live life the fullest. People have
responded so positively to The Hawk that Luongo has had numerous requests for commissions from people who would like their future self painted with The Hawk.
Interestingly, The Hawk was not originally painted to be shown,
but more as a personal project. However, a delivery man, while picking
up paintings from the studio, mistakenly included the first Hawk
portrait in the load. Before Luongo noticed it missing, the
original was sold, beginning a theme and character that the world has
grown to love. |
| ** If you discover credit omissions or have additional information to add, please let us know at registrar@AskART.com. |
|
|
|
|
|
|