I Wanted to See You

Tue, 13 JuneSat, 22 July, 2023

ShugoArts Roppongi

Aki KONDO, I Love You, 2023, acrylic on canvas, 227.3×363.6cm

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Aki KONDO, I Love You, 2023, acrylic on canvas, 227.3×363.6cm

“I Wanted to See You”

Although I could not recognize it for a long time
There is a feeling that I really care about
Always, in my heart

My instinct makes a jittery sound
Unable to resist, it starts running

That feeling is rather simple
But very big and strong
I realized it by making paintings

Even the beasts that have awakened from hibernation
And the plants that chase the sun
And those of us who have not been able to see the people we wanted to see
We have been looking for warmth for a long time

As another season comes
I want to tell this feeling honestly
To you who live above the sky
To you who will be in my life in the future
To you who are closest to me
And to myself as well

“I wanted to see you”

I will see the future with my own hands

May 2023 Aki Kondo

About Exhibition

Aki Kondo has been painting what she wants to see since her childhood. Through painting, she has been able to encounter her imagination in the image while being moved and understanding the world simultaneously. For Kondo, painting has been a place where her heart returns. Hence, she feels uneasy when faced with a blank canvas with nothing painted on it. She wonders if she can properly depict the world she wants to see, a world that is warm and welcoming. It is a lone struggle. Kondo superimposes this process of repetition on the real world. Our hearts are suppressed by long, harsh ordeals. Still, like melting snow, the desire to meet someone deep inside our hearts someday overflows. And if we can realize and say aloud that we have been wanting to see someone, that in itself can be a great healing experience.

This exhibition consists of 18 new works, including a large 3.6-meter work. Everything that appears in her paintings, including humans, animals, plants and stuffed animals, has the desire to see someone. It can be their families, friends or the invisible or even themselves from the past or in the future.

Please enjoy new artworks by Aki Kondo whose art practice keeps evolving ever more powerfully.

May 2023 ShugoArts

Information

Aki KONDO "I Wanted to See You"

Dates

Saturday, 10 June – Saturday, 22 July 2023

Venue

ShugoArts

Hours

11am ‒ 6pm, Closed on Sun, Mon and Public Holidays

Curated by Minako Ishii

Press release

Contact

Publication

Release

Launching on 26 July

Publisher

Little More

This book contains 84 works on paper by Kondo.

Aki KONDO

View Detail

Born in 1987 in Hokkaido and currently residing in Yamagata, Japan. Aki Kondo continues to depict hope and compassion for all forms of life through bold colors and dynamic brushstrokes. For Kondo, who believes that “to paint is to live,” the act of creation is both a process of envisioning the world she wishes to see and a means of self-recognition through painting. Her artistic expression extends beyond canvases and panels, freely expanding into three-dimensional objects, walls, ceilings, and entire spaces. Additionally, Kondo has demonstrated her talent in various artistic endeavors, including writing, directing, and producing the short film HIKARI, which seamlessly blends approximately 14,000 oil-painted animation frames with live-action footage.

Selected exhibitions: Aki Kondo: What I Saw, When I Tore Myself Open, Art Tower Mito, Ibaraki, 2025; I Wanted to See You, ShugoArts, Tokyo, 2023; Aichi Triennale 2022, Aichi, 2022; Stars, Sparkling, Yamagata Museum of Art, Yamagata, 2021; The Happiness that Exists Here, ShugoArts/ Phillips Tokyo/ Contemporary Art Foundation, Tokyo, 2021; Takamatsu Art Museum Collection + Body and Movement, Takamatsu City Museum of Art, Kagawa, 2020; Flowers in the Heart, ShugoArts Online Show, Tokyo, 2020; Today Waiting for That Day and Tomorrow, ShugoArts, Tokyo, 2018; Paintings Here And Now, Fuchu Art Museum, Tokyo, 2018; HIKARI, Daiwa Foundation Japan House, London, 2016; HIKARI, ShugoArts, Tokyo, 2015; THE ECOLOGY OF AKI KONDO, JIKKA, Tokyo, 2013; PHANTOMS OF ASIA: Contemporary Awakens the Past, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, 2012. VOCA 2022 Honorable Mention Award, 2022.