The Happiness that Exists Here
Aki Kondo
The Happiness that Exists Here
Aki Kondo’s first monograph, The Happiness that Exists Here, has published in March, 2021.
The publication of this monograph was made possible by the efforts of Tomoki Matsumoto of T&M Projects, who has been paying attention to Kondo’s activities for a long time, and the design was realized by Satoshi Suzuki. The readers will enjoy Kondo’s first monograph as they turn the pages and come face to face with various pictures that look like actual paintings. The luster and rise of the paint, the rich flow of brushstrokes, and the overlapping colors of Kondo’s paintings are all recreated on paper.
Aki Kondo, Ryoko Kamiyama
Satoshi Suzuki
Christopher Stephens
Muto Shigeo
T&M Projects + ShugoArts
March 2021
220 x 280mm, 128pages
Japanese / English
Christopher Stephens
March 2021
978-4-909442-18-5
In addition, A Hundred Flowers, a special edition of The Happiness that Exists Here, will be available. It is limited to 100 production, including Kondo’s special acrylic artwork especially for the monograph.
100
One artwork by Aki Kondo and one copy of the book, housed in a box.
In celebration of the publication of her first monograph, a solo exhibition entitled “The Happiness that Exists Here” will be held at ShugoArts starting on Sunday, March 13, where visitors will be able to see the powerful works included in the monograph up close. The exhibition will be held simultaneously at four venues: ShugoArts, Philips Tokyo, Contemporary Art Foundation, and DAIKANYAMA TSUTAYA BOOKS. We hope you will enjoy the exhibition together with the monograph.
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.