AKI KONDO

Aki Kondo’s bold and spontaneous brushstrokes, vivid colors, and humorous and imaginative images have captured the hearts of many people. On the other hand, Kondo’s work is always based on her unique view of life and death, which she has developed through the experience of the Great East Japan Earthquake and other losses that happened in her life. The motifs of The Happiness that Exists Here are flowers given in celebration of life, flowers given in appreciation of life, a child gazing into the distance, and overlapping empty cups. Each of these motifs embodies flickering life with which others are also involved.

In any kind of situation, Aki Kondo continues to create works that strongly affirm the importance of living in the present, without leaving painting or indulging herself in expressing sadness. Although the artist once said that her feelings could not keep up with the speed of her own artistic production, the process of creating The Happiness that Exists Here made her realize that living and painting overlap. With the completion of this body of work, Kondo decided to move to Yamagata last summer, where her alma mater, Tohoku University of Art and Design, is located. She is now preparing a new environment for her art practice while planning her next work.