Sissi Janku was born in Munich, Germany. She studied Graphic Arts at the Academy of Art in Munich and worked as a graphic designer for a German magazine. In 1984 she fulfilled a childhood dream to visit the Hawaiian Islands. The tropical beauty inspired her artistic passions and she made Hawaii her home.
While in Honolulu, Sissi became a student of John Young, an internationally acclaimed artist and an icon in Hawaii. One of his last, large paintings was titled “Lust for Life”. It was painted shortly before his passing at age 88. John passed on his energy and strength to Sissi during their frequent outdoor painting sessions. There are more than a few hints of his great influence in Sissi’s work.
Sissi has earned the appreciation of art lovers everywhere. Her paintings have been commissioned by the Mauna Lani Hotel in Hawaii, the Dai-ichi Hotel in Tokyo, the Plantation Inn in Maui and the Player’s Island Resort and Casino in Nevada, and by numerous collectors around the world. Her love of travel unquestionably fuels her creativity and stimulates her artwork. Wanderlust has swept her to exotic countries both near and far. She has toured extensively throughout Europe and lived in Shanghai and many tropical places, Florida, Hawaii, California and Mexico to name a few. Ultimately, her travels have influenced many of her pieces through primitive patterns and the luminous colors of the tropics.
She produces canvases rich in texture and form that are portals to a seductive universe of light and color. Sissi seeks to give her work a warm, gentle and spiritual quality. The viewer of her works will witness a symphony of color and light, and will feel their souls naturally and effortlessly won by the quiet triumph of beauty.
