“I have felt the calling of Japan at a spiritual level, although, for me, it is a mystery how deeply the Japanese culture has moved me.” With these words, Vega Aramburu describes her intimate connection with the Land of the Rising Sun. In the tradition of ukiyo-e, a genre of Japanese art popular during the Edo Period, she produces large acrylic paintings depicting scenes from daily life, folk tales, sumo wrestlers, and female beauties. Donned in elegant and colorful kimonos, her women represent an ideal of grace and femininity, engaging the viewer in a subtle game of seduction. Natural themes are also present in her work, conveying a sense of depth as well as harmony and balance, as are sumo wrestlers and samurais, in full combat or occupied with everyday tasks. True to the style of the period, her compositions are often asymmetrical, viewed from unusual angles. A diagonal structure confers an illusion of movement upon the scenes; while bold contours accentuate her brightly-colored subjects. The fragile beauty of the eastern land is transferred through simple gestural strokes and an economy of lines, resulting in works which are both delicate and evocative.
Aramburu was born in Basauri, Spain, although she spent most of her life between Madrid and Marbella. A poet and writer as well as an artist, she has penned sixteen books and more than one hundred children stories. She has composed over three hundred musical themes and has collaborated with the national radio and press.
