KIKI Zonari

Artist Statement

My work is inspired by my passion for nature and is influenced by my travels. Within my dots and lines, you'll find yourself joining me for long hikes in Europe, on beautiful beaches in my native Brazil, and within the contrasting urban landscapes of New York and Paris.
At times my poured paint transforms. It blooms into a sensual and surreal garden; an exploration of the feminine that is at once vibrant and faded, romantic and provocative. Lively. Lovable.
Light peeks out from complicated combinations of carefully layered dots and strokes, a kind of deconstructed pointillism that embraces imperfection.

Confetti and serpentine.

Seeds and vines.

Dots and lines.

Recently I added Dancing Fishes that shines.

My work makes connections: to people, to nature, to balance, to happiness.

I am a dot myself, and I think you are one too. We are all connected by you simply reading my words or looking at my paintings.

When you look at my paintings and see the dots try to connect them on your mind: each time in a different way. Experiment to connect dots from your past to your present, or perhaps from your past generation to the next one.

To me, the process of painting makes sense of my world, and I hope my paintings can bring playfulness and joy to you and to yours...........................................

Biography

Kiki Zonari is a contemporary Brazilian painter who combines vibrant, abstracted imaginary gardens with geometric dots and lines.
Kiki was born an artist. It was no surprise to her parents, a talented musician and successful entrepreneur, to see her talent bloom.

Just before the age of 9, she began to travel every Monday to the lovely atelier of Brazilian plastic artist Marisa Lacerda from Olinda to take art lessons. To this day Kiki loves Mondays - she waited eagerly each week for those wonderful afternoons to arrive.

Her burgeoning interest in drawing quickly evolved to trying out oil painting, pastels, ceramics, and acrylics. She was fascinated by colors, dots, and lines. For Kiki, painting was easy, fun, and relaxing, and so it became a passion in her life.

At 15, she started working with her mother, hand-painting abstract designs on fabric for her clothing line and store.

Then in 1986 she studied Plastic Arts at the Federal University of Pernambuco, leaving a few years later to travel to Europe for a pivotal period of growth. She travelled to museums and art galleries across the continent, engaging with the Old World and deepening her artistic point of view, all while improving her English.

Returning to Brazil, Kiki felt in love with hospitality, the new family business, and soon became a hotelier. The artist never left her. As the hotels were growing, she found a new outlet: filling the hotel walls with colors. The rooms needed paintings, and there she was, painting fishes, corals, shells, boats, sea life and birds. Kiki's parrots, egrets and macaws brighten the walls of all 4 hotels in Porto de Galinhas, Pernambuco, Brazil.

Throughout her life Kiki has stayed involved in her community. She used her artistic skills to help create the image and brand of Porto de Galinhas, providing leadership for the tourism industry and leading Porto to be voted "#1 Village by the Beach" in the State of Pernambuco for 10 years.

A mother of 3, she is always encouraging her kids to add an extra personal touch to every school project, the food they cook, the way set the table or decorate a plate, or how they organize their room. The results are in: they all have their own extraordinary way of doing ordinary things.

She motivates the people around her to learn, embrace art in every form, believe in the cooperative spirit of the community, and find what makes them extraordinary.


Visit her Artist Statement to learn more about her inspiration and motivation to paint!

Selected Exhibitions

2021 "May 2021 Group Art Show", curated by David Jones, The Jones Gallery on Art District Kansas City, MO.

2021 "Joy: An Art Exhibition Celebrating Life", curated by Jose Gomez, House of Shadows Gallery, Clearwater, FL.

2021 " Here comes the Sun" , curated by Savannah Magnolia, Art Center Sara

Exhibition History (CV)