Enrique CHIU

Enrique Chiu A Personal Touch If ever there was a marriage of labor and love, Enrique Chiu has found the formula. Both practical and passionate, Chiu’s life-long experience with the commercial arts spills over to his creative endeavors so smoothly that neither usurps his loyalty more than the other. With graphic design as his introduction to the arts, his approach to the canvas is informed by pure colors, broad lines, and stylized figures. Chiu’s style is easily identifiable. Some signature recurrences are the use of a guitar, and of musical notes that can usually be found either in the foreground or cleverly implied in the background. All other figures usually revolve around this central theme, and carry the very vibration of music and a festive atmosphere. On a lifted plane, people dance, musicians play their instruments, women move suggestively, and sound becomes tangible. Suddenly, the concrete and the emotive share a space. A hand reaches out and can touch the waves of music. Two worlds collide in a pandemonium of color and movement. The lines with which Chiu encases his subjects are emotively drawn. Brushstrokes move quickly, gestures are documented, and colors overlap instead of bleeding into each other. Arms are curved, defying anatomic accuracy, fingers open like fans, and faces are simplified to their most economic expression. There is an abundance of movement in Chiu’s work, and the waves seem to want to fall right off the canvas. Though he has matured a particular signature, there is a progression waiting to come from it and on to other ventures. One can see that it is fermenting, that certain strokes have begun to hint at a different sensuality. The anticipation of work to come might delve into other techniques, but Chiu states, adamantly, that his work will always have the same flavor. This is what he is familiar with, this is what “feels right” and it is not produced with a commercial intent, but simply as a mode of expression. That his work has sold well is happenstance, and he is always the first to be surprised at the interest in what came of a moment of inspiration. Chiu is not an artist by default. He is not an artist by design. He is an artist by serendipity. It is a happy circumstance that his means of expression should speak to others as well and be in demand. - Claudia Lugo, Viva Goldie Latino Art Show

Biography: Enrique Chiu takes you on a cultural journey that stems from his heart to his paintings reflecting his past experiences and rich upbringing. Fortunate to have lived in Guadalajara, Mexico surrounded by endless folklore, music, indiginous culture and most important a city full of life. Enrique attended the University of Guadalajara where he majored in design and visual arts. It was at the University where his future was ignited and his artistic passion for painting and design developed. Influenced by the fusion of his Chinese and Mexican roots his paintings convey rich colors with exotic whimsical brushstrokes that leave a harmonizing impression of love, culture, and passion. In them, you will find his love for the sensual figure of the guitar that expresses the vibration of music and romance. Enrique’s paintings are a poem of life projecting the love, pain, and bliss that we feel and can relate to our everyday lives. His artistic destiny lead him to what is now his current place of residence Long Beach, California. Here he decided to continue to educate his hands and become a sign technician, were he encountered working with neon lights, of which he eventually incorporated neon into his paintings. The unique technique of neon, radiates a spectacle of lights and color that accentuate textures and the contouring of his brush strokes that make his paintings come alive. Enrique has also produced various murals in the city of Long Beach that ornate the walls of the city and restaurants that impact the eye of the beholder with his large scale figures and impressive hues of color. Enrique’s dream of one day owning his own gallery finally came true in the year of 2003. He became proud owner of C1D Gallery located in the heart of the East Village Art District, of which is also his place of business of signs and advertising. The gallery has definitely played a major role in the East Village Art District with enriching exhibitions of diverse, international and local artist that have gained worldwide and local recognition for the quality of their work. Enrique Chiu embarks on an endless journey of growth and appreciation of life, that will make his artistic technique flourish for years to come, with the goal of leaving behind artwork that will leave an everlasting impression for the present and future generations to follow. ART EXHIBITIONS November 2007 Re-Imagining the Arts in Long Beach, CA MOLAA, Group Show , Long Beach November 2007 Dia de los Muertos Exhibition, Los Angeles, CA Crewest Gallery, Group Show Art District October 2007 Second Look Show, NFIA, Long Beach, CA Bistro Bouchess, Down Town LB October 2007 Dia de los Muertos Exhibition, Long Beach, CA C1D Gallery, Group Show Art District October 2007 Dia de los Muertos Exhibition, San Pedro, CA Gallery Azul, Group Show Art District October 2007 University by the Sea, Long Beach, CA National Event, Down Town LB September 2007 Mask Exhibition, San Pedro, CA Gallery Azul, Group Show Art District September 2007 NFIA & bluegreen group show, Long Beach, CA Lafayette Historical bldg. Art District August 2007 Clothing Boutique Papis & Chicas, Long Beach, CA Fashion & Art- Solo Show August 2007 The Venice Contemporary Gallery- Los Angeles, CA. Blue green - Group Show July 2007 C1D Gallery- Long Beach . California NFIA Group Show, EVAD July 2007 Casa de Arte - Bixby Nolls, California Group Show- Private Event June 2007 Koo`s Art Center - Long Beach, California Group Show Local Artist - East Village Art District June 2007 C1D Gallery - Long Beach, California Solo Show- East Village Art District June 2007 Village Grind Cafe - Long Beach, California Neon Life-Solo Show- East Village Art District June 2007 House of Huka - Long Beach, California Solo Show- East Village Art District January 2007 Koo`s Art Center - Long Beach, California Group Show Local Artist - East Village Art District December 2006 Awakenings Day Gallery\Cafe - Lomita, California "Hindsight Exhibit" Art Show December 2006 Picture this Gallery- Long Beach, California "La Virgen' Art Show 10th Anniversary November 2006 Koo`s Gallery - Long Beach, California East Village Art District October 2006 C1D Gallery- Long Beach, California "Dia De Los Muertos" East Village Art Walk September 2006 Zephyr Cafe- Long Beach, California "Pagan Love" Art Show July 2006 C1D Gallery- Long Beach, California "Sabor Caliente" East Village Art Walk June 2006 Goldie Boutique- Long Beach, California "Viva" Latino Art Show November 2005 C1D Gallery- Long Beach, California "Dia De Los Muertos" Art Show July 2005 C1D Gallery- Long Beach, California East Village Art Walk July 2005 Casa De Arte- Bixby Knolls, California July 2005 EGO Restaurant & Bar-Long Beach, California Opening Art deco Show April 2005 Platform Gallery- Long Beach, California "Abstract Photography" Art Show October 2004 Platform Gallery- Long Beach, California "Dia De Los Muertos" East Village Artwalk August 2004 Village Grind-Long Beach, California Solo Show- Neon Art & Music July 2004 Platform Gallery- Long Beach, California Neon Art Exhibition June 2004 Platform Gallery- Long Beach, California Tour de Artiste Art Walk March 2003 Marina Pacifica Jamba Juice, Long Beach, California July 2002 Cafe Tututango- the Block, Garden Grove, California Art Show - Donation MURALS 2004 East Village Art District- Long Beach (corner of 1st and Linden) 2004 EGO Restraurant & Bar- Long Beach, California Abstract Art Deco 2005 EGO Restaurant & Bar- Long Beach, California Abstract Art Deco 2006 Gabbi`s Mexican Kitchen- Orange, California Custom Painting, Abstract 2006 Alternative Health Clinic- Long Beach, California World Peace Icons- (corner of Pacific and 8th) 2007 Tom`s Burgers - Compton , California Custom Sky- Ceiling 2007 Maderas Restaurant - Los Alamitos , California Custom Sky, Ceiling, Decorative Stone

Country: United States

E-mail: enriquechiu@hotmail.com

Site: www.chiu1.com