ABOUT
ARTIST STATEMENT
I create abstract spaces and forms that explore the movement of the cosmos and of the human spirit. Both these dimensions... physical and spiritual... are infused with the same universal life force which expresses itself through a variety of elemental shapes.
I try to show how these elements move in time and space toward balance and spiritual harmony. I hope my work can serve as portals to the universe and sanctuaries of the soul for experiencing the oneness of both.
-Kiyomi Baird
KIYOMI BAIRD
I grew up in California in a household headed by a non-English speaking grandmother who had left Japan through an arranged marriage at the start of the 20th century. When I was 3, my father gave me a box of artist's materials. Making art become a daily activity and eventually a way of life.
At age 20, when I was working on an art piece in Germany, I experienced a shift in consciousness that was the gateway to the artists' path. I have been following that path ever since.
Years later, I moved to Tokyo, my ancestral homeland. I felt a deep resonance with Japanese culture and aesthetics. I realize that aspects of myself and my art are essentially Japanese.
I believe this cultural duality, the Eastern search inward toward stillness and the Western drive outward through exploration, is the source of a dynamic tension I feel in my life and express in my art. This duality may explain my lifelong love of exploring and learning while also nurturing a rich inner life.
"Kiyomi Baird's art is both evanescent and transcendently beautiful, qualities not found so easily in today's art. As a Japanese-American painter, Baird holds on to her Asian origins and produces art of unusual grace and quiet eloquence. The combination of spiritual awareness and exquisite imagery results in an art that lingers in the thought of the viewer, who may be startled by the extent to which it succeeds. "
- Jonathan Goodman