Aldo Luongo - Biography

Born to Italian parents, Aldo was raised in Argentina. While growing up he was exposed to several of the arts including painting and playing the piano. But his true love when young was playing soccer. Painting and soccer are like walking to me. So natural.

In fact, after graduating from the Academy of Fine Art in Buenos Aires, Aldo Luongo played professional soccer for the New York Cosmos. A few relocations, injuries, and a stint as a jewelry designer later, the artist completed the circle by returning to painting.

A look at Aldo Luongo’s work tempts one to say, Of course, he has to paint. It’s fundamental to the man’s essence. And so it is.

Flatteringly reviewed as a Post-Impressionist by the New York Times, Luongo confesses that at first he was annoyed at being categorized. However, since many of his favorite painters were Impressionists he also understood the sincerity of the compliment. Every artist adapts the best qualities of his favorite artists, but I’m always conscious of capturing bits of life, of reality, of situations, of people. It’s my space in time.

Black and White Prints Leaving behind the gentle utopias of Impressionism, Aldo Luongo captures his subjects in a more direct way. I attack a canvas like I play soccer – with vigor. Soccer is my counterpoint to painting. While painting, I’m confined, lonely, enmeshed in emotions and self-doubt. Then comes the sweat and focus of a really good game and I feel whole again. Life is a matter of balance.

Aldo Luongo and his art evoke true emotion with every canvas. He describes his work as possessing strength, vibrancy, and feeling. For him the real journey is told by Aldo’s most recognizable image, Aguilucho or The Hawk, a self portrait of the artist, himself, with the character of the ultimate old man, my future self.

What makes the Hawk so compelling? Look at the eyes – they mirror the soul of a man who has lived a rich, full life and still sees joy in every moment. They are the eyes that create the canvases of Aldo Luongo.

Aldo Luongo has earned both critical praise and celebrity collectors. Edward G. Robinson, Anthony Quinn, Kevin Costner, Dionne Warwick, Bill Cosby, Yul Brynner, Charlton Heston, and Rob Reiner, to name a few, have been touched by Aldo’s imagery. In addition, Aldo was named official artist for The Olympic Committee at the 1988 Summer Games, has a commissioned work which is displayed in The Kennedy Museum in Boston, two years in a row was selected to participate in The White House Easter Egg Hunt, where his painted "eggs" are now on display at the world-renowned Smithsonian Museum.

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Aldo Luongo - Career Highlights

• 1960 Aldo Luongo Graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• 1964 Aldo Luongo Arrived in New York City with a dream to pursue his artwork after his athletic career is cut short due to injury.
• 1965 Aldo Luongo Moved to Los Angeles and worked as a jewelry designer at the prestigious Marvin Hime Jewelers in Beverly Hills.
• 1967 As he continued painting, Aldo Luongo was hired by Vanguard Studios to design a line of wall décor, including paintings and sculptures.
• 1968 Vanguard Studios sends Luongo to Rome, Italy to capture a Mediterranean flavor for their new U.S. designs.
• 1969 Upon his return to Los Angeles, Aldo Luongo decided to end his career as a designer in order to dedicate himself completely to his artwork.
• 1970 Aldo Luongo Joined forces with a publishing company in Beverly Hills, where he worked in the company of such well known artists as Charles Bragg, John Kelly, Christine Rosemond, Wade Reynolds, and Robert Owens. During this period a series of black and white drawings featuring depictions of lovers and other images from the artist's childhood were published as prints.
• 1971-74 Aldo Luongo is featured in one man exhibits at the Trebor Galleries in San Francisco and Los Angeles. At these shows, he was discovered by Dean Day, who brought his work to the Pace Galleries in Dallas, Houston, and Corpus Christi. Mr. Charles Pace and Dean Day became great influences on Luongo's career, and are good friends of the artist to this day.
• 1975-78 After one man exhibits at the University of Texas in El Paso and the Museum of Science and Industry at Exposition Park in Los Angeles, Aldo Luongo's works were published in New York at the Americana Atelier under the direction of Eleonor Ettinger. Later, Ms. Ettinger opened her own Atelier and published some of Aldo Luongo's prints.
• Further, Aldo Luongo was hired by Ms. Dionne Warwick to create the cover image for her album Then Came You. As a result of wide publicity, Aldo Luongo was hired by Hiram Walker Liquors to produce eight portraits, including those of Charleton Heston, Bill Cosby, James Franciscis, and Desi Arnez Jr. for a Celebrity Tennis Tournament, and those of Dionne Warwick and Yul Brenner for Entertainers of the Year.
• 1978-87 Aldo Luongo's works were published by several companies and continued his one man exhibits around the world.
• 1988-89 Aldo Luongo's first endeavors in sports art, High Flyer and Jump to Victory, are chosen to represent the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea, leading him to be named as an official Olympic artist.
• During this time, Aldo Luongo was also commissioned by the White House to join in the famous Easter Egg Hunt by painting two of the traditional wooden eggs. These eggs are stored in the permanent collection at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. Other artists included in the event that year were Andy Warhol, Frank Stella, and Rauschenburg.
• 1990 Aldo Luongo Embarked on a national tour of Japan sponsored by Art Collection House, visiting Tokyo, Osaka, Sendai, Sapporo, Fukuoka, and Kanazawa. He also held an exhibit at the Nihon Garro Gallery in Nagoya, and was commissioned to paint a portrait of the pop star Yoko Minamino.
• 1991-94 Aldo Luongo became his own publisher and continued his one man shows.
• 1995 Aldo Luongo was named Man of the Year by the Cystic Fibrosis Association.
• 1996 Aldo Luongo joined forces with Michael Maselli, a well-known art agent, with whom he had worked before, to create Scala Editions, a publishing venture designed to bring the artwork of Aldo Luongo to the attention of audiences worldwide.
• Also during this time, Aldo Luongo is named as an official artist of the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta, Georgia for his image Where the World Comes to Play.
• 1998 Named Man of the Year by the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

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