Artist Statement

Harumi Hironaka is a São Paulo-based peruvian/japanese painter and illustrator who has a unique way of bringing her illustrations to life.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I wish I were a more evolved person, mentally and spiritually. A person who can look beyond her own nose and feel inspired by more meaningful, beautiful things in life and the world. But sometimes my art comes from this dark place - the place where I keep stuff I don’t want the people around me, in my everyday life, to see.

What I struggle or have struggled with.- My whole life I’ve been made to feel like I should apologize for being who I am and feeling the way I do. Like there’s something inherently wrong with me.

I now refuse to apologize about my art, to listen to people that tell me that I should paint happier, more positive stuff.

That it would sell better. I paint imperfect, unapologetic, loud women. There’s something that vibrates in each of them, something that’s wrong. By doing so, I acknowledge and accept myself.