I Wanted to See You
Solo Exhibition by Aki Kondo
ShugoArts, Tokyo, Japan
June 10 - July 22, 2023
Welcome to another LA Art Documents' video dedicated to flourishing contemporary art in Tokyo, Japan. This time, we are taking you to the ShugoArts gallery located in the Minato neighborhood for the solo show by the Japanese female painter Aki Kondo, titled "I Wanted to See You."
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.
Artists Statement:
“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
See more at https://shugoarts.com/en/