Artist Statement
I catch the essence of nature, the moment in time, and the mood of nature. What led me to that was wanting to have joy and beauty in my life. I went to the beach and experienced the constant sense of peace and calmness. I put onto canvas my wish for people to feel the same calmness and peacefulness my paintings express. As they look at them I want them to feel like they’re putting their toes in the sand.
Biography
Zoe began her career as a painter and illustrator in Oceanside, California. In 2023, she relocated to Corpus Christi, Texas.
Zoe means “spiritual life”, which matches her gypsy, mermaid, and surfer girl attitude toward life. She is inspired by seeing, hearing, smelling, and feeling the ocean. She hopes to bring joy and inspire light through appreciation of her art.
Zoe started drawing in Los Angeles at the age of 8 while her father, Matsumi Kanemitsu, taught Art at the Otis College of Art and Design. Always surrounded by artists, Zoe developed her artistic approach and style while making jewelry in the early 2000’s. Reluctant to pursue art as a career, she instead worked in the health food industry for many years. During this time, she kept drawing, had strong urges to paint, and in her early 50’s, finally did so. “Art found me”, she admits, “I enjoy brilliant, bold, expressive pieces of art”. God gave me a gift which I believe should be shared with the world. If I can bring joy from my creations to someone else, then I feel complete.”
Zoe Kanemitsu is a Japanese American artist born in Los Angeles, California on March 2, 1969. She is the daughter of Matsumi “Mike” Kanemitsu, one of the most influential modern artists of the twentieth century. Mike Kanemitsu worked with such artists as Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, and Fernand Leger. Though he painted representational works in the early 1950s, Kanemitsu is generally considered an abstract expressionist. Later in the 1950s, his works were displayed at both the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. Zoe wishes to carry on the spirit of her father’s work while exploring her own unique expressive abilities.rel
