Luongo, Aldo

Luongo was born January 31, 1940, in Buenos Aires, Argentina of Italian Parents who came to that South American country in their youth, became citizens and still live there.

His athletic ability came from his soccer player/winery worker father and his mother?s brother, a talented and busy illustrator, spurred his early artistic proclivity.Luongo went to local schools and at age 14 entered the Buenos Aires Academy of Fine Art, from which institution he graduated at age 17 with a thorough grounding and training in the basics of fine art.In 1962, he made his big decision to concentrate on art and drove to San Francisco where he worked at jewelry design before moving to his eventual home in Los Angeles in 1963.He continued in that field until, in 1968 he married a Scotswoman and went to Europe with her on a work-honeymoon to seek new designs for his employers.

What became a full year stay overseas enabled him to produce several oil paintings, which brought him his first gallery showing on Los Angeles? prestigious La Cienega Boulevard art row.Luongo has adopted candid photography as an adjunct to his painting, shooting extensively around California and concentrating on both people of all ages and landscapes to capture varying scenes and times. In the years since his paintings were first displayed for the public in Los Angeles, Luongo has won the admiration of both collectors and critics for the warmth and vitality of his art characters.