background image
22
Artis
Spectrum
Shikou Furuichi
S
HIKOU FURUICHI, CALLIGRAPHY ARTIST, was born in
Japan in 1967. She began studying traditional calligraphy as a
six year old elementary school student. Shikou has continued
to expand and nurture her singular ability for more than 20 years,
earning countless awards, including many of the highest honors a
calligrapher in her field can achieve.
Her talent is so widely respected that she earned her calligraphic
name, Master Shikou, from the Seifu Japanese Calligraphy Foundation.
She is a master of composition and rhythm
and possesses a highly refined touch for
the blending of white and black color on
Japanese rice paper.
It is certain that she has and will
continue to make many calligraphic
contributions to the United States through
cultural exchange exhibitions. The "Asia Boom" that is currently
taking place in the United States, including and explosion of interest
in the cultures of countries like Japan ensures that she will have many
chances to contribute to the depth of American culture in the future.
It is also important to mention that today she continues to expand and
contribute her calligraphic exhibitions in the USA, mainly at Tenri Cultural
Institute of New York (solo exhibit in April 2004), Sushiden Gallery in
New York (solo exhibit in December 2004), and Consulate General of
Japan in New York (New Year's group exhibit in January 2005).
Shikou Furuichi will have an exhibition and lecture introducing
Japanese Calligraphy for JET members. JET (The Japan Exchange
Furuichi is
a master of
composition
and rhythm.
Carlos Maneiro
W
ITH EDUCATION STEEPED in academic and international
culture from the Essy Art Academy of Caracas and the presti-
gious Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Carlos Maneiro
takes a humanistic and organic design approach to his works. Earth tones
make up the majority of his palette, creating naturalistic atmosphere that
sets his subjects in realistic environments.
Strong foreground figures bathed in light
embrace highlights and minute details, stand-
ing starkly against silhouettes that give a para-
doxical ambiance of revelation and mystery
in equal doses. An attention to architectural
form is noticeable against sweeping landscapes
and the muse of nature, which pervades the
majority of Maniero's works and are a delicate
reminder of Chinese landscape painting.
Stoking his creative fire with evolutionary artisan embers such as
Duchamp, Ernst, Chirico and Picabia, Carlos Maneiro has chosen his
influences studiously. The surrealist school is prevalent in his work,
which combines his ethereal landscaping with constructive contours
and whimsical stylistic renderings. Abstract and realism find harmony
in Manerio's earthy tonal range, which exploits the vivid colors in
nature to the outer reaches of the imagination.
Maneiro is not only a gifted visual expressionist, but is also an
accomplished verbal wordsmith. His website, www.carlosmaneiro.com,
features a bevy of his poetry in addition to selected pieces in
his gallery. -Blaise Morita

www.art-mine.com
Attack of the Stubborn Bull, oil, 14" x 26"
Abstract and
realism find
harmony in
Manerio's
earthy color
range.
and Teaching program) is operated by Japanese local authorities in
cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications;
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology. The Americans who are selected to
participate in this program have an assignment to promote International
cultural exchange at the community level in Japan. The program will
start in this (2005) summer to next year (2006). -Erin Siegal
www.geocities.jp/shikoucalligraphy
Sea Poem, Japanese Calligraphy on rice paper, 37.5" x 23.5"