By "Reverend Bec"
Valencia County's Walkie-Talkie, Roving Reporter & Photographer
<img src=http://steppinoutnewmexico.com/images/ENweb3.JPG align=center vspace=4 alt>
A simple man, a gentle man, modest, unassuming - this is Eizo Nishiura. Eizo, whose name means "Third Blessing", is triply blessed - he is an extraordinary artist, retired math professor, and all 'round wonderful human being. Starting Saturday, June 9th, 2007, Eizo will be gracing us with a showing of his large artworks at the historical Harvey House Museum, where his beautiful paintings will stay on display through June 30th. The Harvey House Museum, located at 104 North 1st Street in Belen, phone number (505) 861-0581, is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Five months ago, when Lorraine Doty, President of the Belen Art League, first approached Eizo with the idea of doing a show, he initially envisioned it being called "Southwest Light", because of the direction his art had taken at the time. Since then, however, his work has evolved in so many different directions, that he has decided to simply call it "Paintings and Drawings".<img src=http://steppinoutnewmexico.com/images/ENweb1.JPG align=right hspace=4 alt>
On June 9th, in celebration of the opening of "Paintings and Drawings", there will be an artist's reception from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., with wonderful hors d'oeuvres and libations, accompanied by the eclectic musical stylings of Gerard Bezzeg, singer and guitarist. Gerard, by the way, regularly performs every Sunday from 9 to 11 a.m. at Java Joe's, located at 9th and Park, right off Central in downtown Albuquerque.
<img src=http://steppinoutnewmexico.com/images/ENweb5.JPG align=left hspace=4 alt>Eizo's passion and talent for art showed very early in his life. His father, Shingo Nishiura, a formally trained artist born in Mieken Province, Japan, gladly shared his time and knowledge with his eager son, who happily told me, "we sketched together all the time, and I learned most of what I know from him".
But Eizo also was born with a passion and talent for mathematics and was further inspired by his brother, Togo Nishiura, who later became a math professor at Wayne State in Detroit, MI.
In 1952, Eizo attended San Jose State College, initially as an art major. But after the first quarter, he put his art on hold and changed his major. In 1956, he graduated magna cum laude with his B.A. in math, and went on to graduate school at the University of Illinois, where he studied for his Ph.D. until 1960. At that time, his art called him back, and he spent the next 9 years torn between his two loves, in an odd state of limbo.
Imagine - After leaving the University of Illinois in 1960, he sailed to Europe where he taught math and physics at The American High School in Scheveningen, in Holland, a sea-side resort right next to the Hague. After 6 months, his artistic muse became too haunting, and he chose to put his time and energy into his paintings. So he traveled to Paris to pursue his art. There, he lived on his savings, and supplemented his income with odd jobs such as stretching canvases at Senellier, an art supply store.
In 1961, he returned to the States to continue perfecting his artistic craft and became a math teacher at Wayne State, where he also completed his Ph.D. in math, graduating in 1970.
Since then, he has been seeking his deepest, truest artistic voice. He draws with pen and ink, and paints with oils and water colors. He produces small gems and huge. His subject matter ranges from realism to impressionism to abstraction to geometric abstraction. The one thing all these forms of expression have in common is their exquisiteness. His work is simply stunning!
<img src=http://steppinoutnewmexico.com/images/ENweb2.JPG align=center vspace=4 alt>
Eizo Nishiura, born in California, has lived in many places, through many things. For example, when he was 7, his entire family, consisting of his mother, his father and his 5 brothers and sisters, was forced to live in the horse stalls at the Santa Anita Race Track, which had been set up as temporary barracks for the internment of people of Japanese descent during World War II. From there, his family was forcibly moved to Wyoming, where they spent the next 3 years at "Heart Mountain", one of the infamous, so-called "Relocation Camps" of the 2nd World War.
In 1961, he met his future wife, Ruth, in Detroit, MI. They stayed in and out of touch for 11 years, re-connecting in 1972. They ended up getting married in 1980, in Long Island, NY, where Eizo teaching at the time.
Eizo and Ruth moved here to Los Lunas four years ago. They now live on a quiet little street with a breathtaking vista, in an elegant, spacious home, surrounded by beautiful xeriscaped rocks and gardens, tended lovingly by Ruth, while Eizo lovingly tends his muse.
Los Lunas is a better place for their being here.
Valencia County's Walkie-Talkie, Roving Reporter & Photographer
<img src=http://steppinoutnewmexico.com/images/ENweb3.JPG align=center vspace=4 alt>
A simple man, a gentle man, modest, unassuming - this is Eizo Nishiura. Eizo, whose name means "Third Blessing", is triply blessed - he is an extraordinary artist, retired math professor, and all 'round wonderful human being. Starting Saturday, June 9th, 2007, Eizo will be gracing us with a showing of his large artworks at the historical Harvey House Museum, where his beautiful paintings will stay on display through June 30th. The Harvey House Museum, located at 104 North 1st Street in Belen, phone number (505) 861-0581, is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Five months ago, when Lorraine Doty, President of the Belen Art League, first approached Eizo with the idea of doing a show, he initially envisioned it being called "Southwest Light", because of the direction his art had taken at the time. Since then, however, his work has evolved in so many different directions, that he has decided to simply call it "Paintings and Drawings".<img src=http://steppinoutnewmexico.com/images/ENweb1.JPG align=right hspace=4 alt>
On June 9th, in celebration of the opening of "Paintings and Drawings", there will be an artist's reception from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., with wonderful hors d'oeuvres and libations, accompanied by the eclectic musical stylings of Gerard Bezzeg, singer and guitarist. Gerard, by the way, regularly performs every Sunday from 9 to 11 a.m. at Java Joe's, located at 9th and Park, right off Central in downtown Albuquerque.
<img src=http://steppinoutnewmexico.com/images/ENweb5.JPG align=left hspace=4 alt>Eizo's passion and talent for art showed very early in his life. His father, Shingo Nishiura, a formally trained artist born in Mieken Province, Japan, gladly shared his time and knowledge with his eager son, who happily told me, "we sketched together all the time, and I learned most of what I know from him".
But Eizo also was born with a passion and talent for mathematics and was further inspired by his brother, Togo Nishiura, who later became a math professor at Wayne State in Detroit, MI.
In 1952, Eizo attended San Jose State College, initially as an art major. But after the first quarter, he put his art on hold and changed his major. In 1956, he graduated magna cum laude with his B.A. in math, and went on to graduate school at the University of Illinois, where he studied for his Ph.D. until 1960. At that time, his art called him back, and he spent the next 9 years torn between his two loves, in an odd state of limbo.
Imagine - After leaving the University of Illinois in 1960, he sailed to Europe where he taught math and physics at The American High School in Scheveningen, in Holland, a sea-side resort right next to the Hague. After 6 months, his artistic muse became too haunting, and he chose to put his time and energy into his paintings. So he traveled to Paris to pursue his art. There, he lived on his savings, and supplemented his income with odd jobs such as stretching canvases at Senellier, an art supply store.
In 1961, he returned to the States to continue perfecting his artistic craft and became a math teacher at Wayne State, where he also completed his Ph.D. in math, graduating in 1970.
Since then, he has been seeking his deepest, truest artistic voice. He draws with pen and ink, and paints with oils and water colors. He produces small gems and huge. His subject matter ranges from realism to impressionism to abstraction to geometric abstraction. The one thing all these forms of expression have in common is their exquisiteness. His work is simply stunning!
<img src=http://steppinoutnewmexico.com/images/ENweb2.JPG align=center vspace=4 alt>
Eizo Nishiura, born in California, has lived in many places, through many things. For example, when he was 7, his entire family, consisting of his mother, his father and his 5 brothers and sisters, was forced to live in the horse stalls at the Santa Anita Race Track, which had been set up as temporary barracks for the internment of people of Japanese descent during World War II. From there, his family was forcibly moved to Wyoming, where they spent the next 3 years at "Heart Mountain", one of the infamous, so-called "Relocation Camps" of the 2nd World War.
In 1961, he met his future wife, Ruth, in Detroit, MI. They stayed in and out of touch for 11 years, re-connecting in 1972. They ended up getting married in 1980, in Long Island, NY, where Eizo teaching at the time.
Eizo and Ruth moved here to Los Lunas four years ago. They now live on a quiet little street with a breathtaking vista, in an elegant, spacious home, surrounded by beautiful xeriscaped rocks and gardens, tended lovingly by Ruth, while Eizo lovingly tends his muse.
Los Lunas is a better place for their being here.