Bio
Kristie Fujiyama Kosmides is a fourth-generation Japanese American born in Hilo, Hawaii. A full-time artist and visual storyteller she is inspired by the experiences, relationships, and reflections of daily life. Her work captures an energy that is serene and powerful and if often composed at a grand scale.
Kristie received her BFA from Otis College of Art and Design, where she received the Department Chair Award. She has studied painting under Linus Chao, Alyssa Monks, and Vincent Desiderio. Kristie has exhibited her works internationally and nationally, and her commissions include works for the Honolulu International Airport, Sheraton Maui, Hawaii State Capitol Building, Hawaii Pacific Health, and Kapiolani Medical Center. She resides in Hilo and Los Angeles and is represented by Tiffany’s Art Agency and Hawaii Contemporary.
Artist statement
Living in Hawaii, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, I’m inspired by the constantly-changing landscape of the ocean, nature, and island-culture. Painting water calls to me because it is physical matter expressing energy in a visible form. Serene, bold, powerful, and calm, capturing the dynamic movement and force of water has always attracted me and is the core element of my work both as subject and symbol.
I view my studio as my sanctuary. A respite for most of my day where I can retreat into a practice and a place of solitude. For me, art-making is a form of prayer where I feel connected to a source greater than myself. It is where I can transcend obstacles and create unlimited possibilities. Painting is a discipline as well as a form of play and freedom. Creating art is an expression of love, and I hope to contribute and connect with others through my work.
My process begins outside of the studio, where I observe interactions with people, daily life experiences, and signs from nature as a navigational guide. My intention is to capture the energy of my subject matter, rather than a perfect form. In life, there are things that are felt not seen, an energy that is constantly influencing us. I aim to bring the unseen energy of an object into a visible expression through my art. Learning to stay open and aware, bare to any preconceived ideas of the outcome, is the most important part of my process. Once I sit down at the canvas, I allow the inspiration to enter and the conversation to begin. I lay down various abstract strokes in my base layers until the painting is revealed.
I create large-scale works in oil on linen in abstract and representational styles. I love painting large as I relate sitting in front of a stark white canvas to being alone in the middle of the ocean. Raw, untouched, and vulnerable, the same reverence exists. Many of my works are diptychs or multi-paneled because I am captivated by visual narratives seeing how one panel influences and exists because of the others.
This philosophy is derived from a great loss. In 2018, I lost my husband, George Kosmides. His passing was unexpected and unbearable. My life with him shaped me as a person, and his death has forever impacted me as an artist. I look at life as fragile, precious, and impermanent, and I try to capture the essence of fleeting moments into permanence through art. I believe in connections, not coincidences. In life and my work I strive to portray these ephemeral and intimate relationships. My art focuses on the legacy of life, people, places, and cultures in hopes of honoring their existences.
Exhibitions
2020- Tiffany’s Art Agency “Celebrations”
2019-Hawaii Contemporary “Black and White Exhibit”
Tiffany’s Art Agency
2018— Tiffany’s Art Agency “Larger Than Life”
2017 — Henderson Design Group Summer 2017
2017 — Four Seasons Hualalai "Exploring Abstraction" | Immersed Series | Abstracts
2016 — Hawaii's Master Artist Series at Four Season's Hualalai "Warm Waters" presented by Tiffany's Art Agency and Four Seasons Hualalai
2016 — Waimea Ocean Film Festival Four Seasons Hualalai and Mauna Kea Beach Resort
2016 — Henderson Design Group, "Warm Waters", Jan 4-Feb 29
2014 — Tiffany’s Art Agency-Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Kamuela, Hawaii
2009 — “Sensory Perception,” 87zero – Honolulu, Hawaii
2009 — Hana Coast Gallery – Hana, Maui
2008 — “Energy Matters” Solo Show, Seyhoun Gallery – West Hollywood, California
2008 — Whole Nine Gallery – Culver City, California
2008 — “Art on the Avenue” Wyland Waikiki Hotel – Honolulu, Hawaii
2006 — Solo Show Seyhoun Gallery – West Hollywood, California
2004 — Otis College of Art and Design Senior Thesis Exhibition- Los Angeles, California
SELECT COMMISSIONS
2020-Ikaika Ohana | Kaiwahine Village | Kihei, Maui
2019— Hawaii Pacific Health | Straub Clinic Ward Village Kakaako, Honolulu, Hawaii 2019— Hawaii Pacific Health | Straub Clinic Ka Makana Alii | Kapolei, Hawaii.
2019 — North Hawaii Community Hospital, Waimea, Hawaii.
2018 — Sheraton Maui Resort and Spa, Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii
2017 — UHC Kamana Elderly Center, Hilo, Hawaii
2016 — UHC Urban Housing Development, Yucaipa, California
2015 — 740 Heinz Building, Wareham Development, Berkeley, California
2014-2015 —Urban Housing Communities UHC - Riverside Apartments Affordable Housing Project
2013 — Kyobashi Kameda Tokyo Clinic-Tokyo, Japan
2012 — Honolulu International Airport-Hawaiian Airlines International and Inter-island Terminals-Honolulu, Hawaii
2011 – Honolulu International Airport – International Terminal-Honolulu, Hawaii
2011 — Kapiolani Medical Center For Women and Children – Honolulu, Hawaii
2009 — Naniloa Volcanoes Resort – Hilo, Hawaii
EDUCATION
2015 — Workshop with Vincent Desiderio for painting
2014 — Photography workshop with Michael Kelley Nassau, Bahamas
2013 — Studio workshop from Alyssa Monks, New York, New York
2013 — Photography workshop with Christa Meola, New York, New York
1996-1999 — Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, California, BFA
1994-1996 — Cornish College of Art and Design, Seattle Washington
1993-1994 — Hilo Community College, Hilo, Hawaii
1993 — Waiakea High School, Hilo, Hawaii, HS Diploma
Awards
1999 — Otis College of Art and Design Thesis Award Los Angeles, California
1992 — Kahakii Mayor Award Hawaii
PUBLICATIONS
Cal Magazine — 2018
Aloha Expressionism — 2016
Pacific Edge Magazine — July 2012
Modern Luxury Magazine — November 2009
OC Gazette,”Life is Art” — March 27, 2009
Art and Living Magazine — 2009
Art and Living Magazine — 2008
DESIGN FIRMS
Henderson Design Group — Mauna Lani, Hawaii
87zero — Honolulu, Hawaii