Akihiro Hasegawa Solo Exhibition

Dates｜  June 29 (Sat) – July 27 (Sat), 2024

Venue｜ √K Contemporary

We are pleased to announce the opening of Akihiro Hasegawa’s highly anticipated solo exhibition at √K Contemporary, on view from June 29 (Sat) to July 27 (Sat), 2024.

The exhibition marks the artist’s first exhibition since the completion of his master’s degree in design at the Tokyo University of the Arts this past spring. Presenting varying new works ranging from large-scale to small, canvas and acrylic panel pieces, this exhibition aims to present the up-and-coming Hasegawa’s “now” as he looks towards entering the next stage of his artistic career.  

Since his debut exhibition, Yomogi & COMP at √K Contemporary in 2022, Akihiro Hasegawa has exhibited his works at a variety of venues and fairs, cementing his status as one of the most sought after rising young artists. Using the properties of light and peculiarities of sight, Hasegawa’s works essentially project the light seen from digital screens onto analog using acrylic panels and oil paint. Within the surface, Hasegawa’s works convey the glimpse of Buddhist philosophy and view of life and death, that make up the core of Hasegawa’s unique perspectives.

Hasegawa’s ethos is influenced by his religious background, which, while reflecting a philosophy that is distinctly Eastern, also contains a certain je ne sais quoi factor that questions the broader nature of humanity at large.  His artistic expression of these thoughts reveals his compassion for humanity and an effort to extend a hand of guidance and encouragement for those struggling with their inner conflicts.  

In addition to Hasegawa’s signature acrylic panels and other staple series such as Raigō, this exhibition will also feature new expressions such as charcoal drawings. As an artist and as a human, Hasegawa continues to reflect upon himself by digesting the past while examining the possibilities that the future holds with an inquisitive spirit.  Adopting this perspective, we invite you to come explore this special world created by Hasegawa.

There will be additional special events to be held during the exhibition period. Further details will be posted on the exhibition homepage, as well as on all social media platforms.

Artist Statement

I often wonder what “life-affirming” means.

We look to the outside world for the answer, assuming that someone else has it, or that the “real thing” is overseas.
I suppose that could be true.
Even if the answer is out there, however, I get the feeling that searching for it will only result in unfulfillment.
For those that are forced to continuously search the beyond for this “correct” answer, how much of it do they need to absorb to find affirmation?

I don’t think that such affirmation of life can be found in the future.
Nor in the present.
If it is to be found at all, perhaps it is in the past.

Perhaps fulfillment was in the people we left in the past…
Or perhaps it is only in the sentiment, “I was actually already fulfilled”, that we can find this affirmation of life. These are the things I muse about.

Perhaps “I was already saved by the cat I owned when I was 5 years old”.

I think a “good work of art” is something similar to that – one that gives a feeling of having seen it before, even though it’s the first time laying eyes on it, or, one that affirms the present by retrogradely reorganizing all the wishes and insecurities from the past.

We live to encounter our past once again.

This is how I view works of art.

Akihiro Hasegawa