Gloria Stetbay lives in Provence, near the beautiful city of Avignon. She first attended the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Avignon, and then  the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts  in Paris. Yet, Japan is far from Avignon. And nothing, therefore, predestined her to specialize in the painting of Sumotoris. Nothing, except that she herself practiced Aikido for a long time and that she particularly likes the pictorial themes related to martial arts. The choice of such a particular subject - especially for a Frenchwoman - turned out to be a good one since her first exhibitions were an immediate success. From Cannes to Bruges, passing by Ile Saint Louis in Paris, everywhere she went, everywhere her painting seduced. Her research and her original evolution conquered many admirers including President Jacques Chirac himself.

Her reputation is now widely acknowledged by media circles and thanks to her works, she is known in many countries such as the Netherlands, Korea and Denmark. Noticed by Matagoro Toriumi, a leading member of the Japanese Judo Federation and by the Japanese Ambassador to Paris, Kaoru Ishikawa, her fame is exported to Japan. Her works are particularly well-known by the famous sumotoris Konishiki Yasokichi and Akebono Taro, real demi-gods, both seduced by her art.

Brigitte Thévenot-Peressini  Journalist,  Historian