A Hundred Flowers A special edition of The Happiness that Exists Here, will be available. It is limited to 100 productions, including Kondo's special acrylic artwork, especially for the monograph, housed in a cloth-covered box The happiness that exists in this world simply is what it is. There can be things that lack form in this world, yet still exist, and I see and feel their countless vestiges among us. Perhaps they are like heat and colors that dwell within a person’s soul. I trace invisible paths of memory to paint them, and by painting them, I trace them once more. All this together forms the happiness that exists in this world. ―― Aki Kondo - The Happiness that Exits Here , a group of fifty paintings that Aki Kondo created in her hometown of Sapporo, Japan from winter 2019 to summer 2020, has become a book. 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 」apan 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. Exhibitions (4 venues in Tokyo) ShugoArts Saturday, March 13 - Saturday, April 10, 2021 complex665 2F, 6-5-24 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo Opening Hours: Tue-Sat noon-6pm, closed on Sun, Mon and Public Holidays PHILLIPS TOKYO Saturday, March 13 - Friday, April 9, 2021 4F, Piramide Building, 6-6-9, Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 10am-5pm, closed on Sat, Sun and Public Holidays Contemporary Art Foundation Saturday, March 13 - Friday, April 9, 2021 4F, Piramide Building, 6-6-9, Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo Always on view while the exhibition is up. *The artworks can be seen from the windows in the hallway outside. DAIKANYAMA TSUTAYA BOOKS Friday, March 12 - Friday, March 26, 2021 17-5 Sarugakucho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Open every day (Please see the website for opening hours.) - Aki Kondo was born in 1987 in Hokkaido, Japan. After completing her graduate studies at Tohoku University of Art and Design in 2012, she has participated in numerous exhibitions in Japan and abroad. Along with her vibrant brushwork and strong colors, she has become known for her unconventional artistic practice producing artworks such as the short film HIKARI (2015), which features oil painting animation and live action, the Otafuku Room (2015), a guest room at the Park Hotel Tokyo, and live painting events with musicians. In addition, in order to commemorate the publication of her artist catalogue, Kondo holds an exhibition titled The happiness that exists , which takes place simultaneously at four different locations in Tokyo in 2021.