KUMIKO S. McKEE Kumiko Art Studio www.kumiko-art.com  Kumiko S. McKee is a Japanese contemporary artist based in the United States and Japan.  As a young child, she used to draw and particularly enjoyed drawing female portraits. When she was in elementary school, her paintings were often selected for shows and received numerous awards. At fifteen, she began studying art as a fine art major at the Private High School of K. Girls College where she learned basic techniques and knowledge of art. Her interest in oil painting grew after trying it for the first time when she was sixteen (during the second year of high school).   She started her career in working as designer and focusing on display designs for major department stores in Tokyo. Here she learned valuable skills in creating display designs for show windows. Some of the displays included designs for products from "Yves Saint Laurent", "Sonia Rykiel", "Jean Paul Gaultter", "Ferre", "Luciano Soprani", "Paco Rabanne", "Persol" and "Fiorucci". She moved to the UnitedStates and studied art as a fine art major at the University and obtained BFA degree. While attending the University, she worked on her own projects independently from the painting classes. During this period, her work was recognized and received numerous honors including the First Place Award for two consecutive years and the A&S Dean's Award at the Annual juried exhibition. She also received the Robert D. Coe Fine Arts Scholarship and was granted membership to the Golden Key International Honor Society. After graduating from University, she opened her studio "Kumiko Art Studio" and online gallery in 2003.  Her interest in other culture and art in different countries took her on travels 37 countries, which are clearly reflected in her artwork. To see other culture and communicate with local people at each location where she visited during her travels has greatly influenced her point of view and has led her to focus on cultural in her paintings. Today, she is working on series of oil paintings that combine Western and Japanese traditions. Her challenge in the series is to show the beautiful elements of Japanese culture with the images in a way that people from other cultures could appreciate and make a connection with. Through viewing her paintings, the viewergains a glimpse into a world they may know little about.  www.kumiko-art.com [Biography - Kumiko S. Mckee - 5Ko]

- KUMIKO S. McKEE Kumiko Art Studio www.kumiko-art.com Kumiko S. McKee est un artiste contemporain japonais basé aux états-Unis et le Japon. Comme un jeune enfant, elle permet de dessiner et a particulièrement apprécié le dessin portraits féminins. Quand elle était à l'école primaire, ses peintures ont été souvent choisis pour des spectacles et ont r... [Biography - Kumiko S. Mckee - 4Ko - 2015]