KONMASA (Photo / Video Conceptual Artist)
Born in 1990 / Resides in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture
KONMASA is an artist who explores the themes of "the finiteness of time and existence" through various mediums, including clothing, painting, photography, and video, often employing repetitive actions from daily life.
In 2014, upon being deeply moved by contemporary art at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, KONMASA realized he was coincidentally wearing a tank top—a garment he then perceived as a symbol of the everyday. This realization led him to initiate projects centered around the tank top motif. Notable works include "KONMASA BLDG," where a tank top was buried at the entrance of a building he operates for 999 days and unearthed on the 1000th day, and "KONMASA 47," a journey around Japan wearing a single tank top, which was later fired into porcelain and its fragments distributed nationwide.
Each of these works visually represents the process of change and disappearance over time. These activities are part of a semi-autobiographical novel titled "A Life In A TANK-TOP," which reaches completion when the act of wearing the tank top concludes. Each chapter serves as an attempt to confront finiteness from different perspectives. Through "repetition" and "endings," KONMASA's works prompt us to become aware of the passage of time and challenge us to consider how we live within each fleeting moment.
Curriculum Vitae
Awards
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2016
TANK TOP PHOTOGRAPHER
Fine Art Photography Awards
Bronze Award (3rd Prize) – Amateur / Fashion
https://fineartphotoawards.com/winners-gallery/fapa-2015-2016/amateur/fashion/bronze-award
Exhibitions
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2021
Hokusai: Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji
Kariya City Art Museum, Aichi, Japan
https://www.cinra.net/news/20210105-konmasa -
2020
The Milky Way
Minamimaki Village Museum of Art and Folklore, Nagano, Japan
https://www.value-press.com/pressrelease/240112 -
2020
Flowers, Birds, Wind, and Moon (Kachō Fūgetsu)
Gallery Q, Tokyo, Japan
https://www.galleryq.info/exhibition2020/exhibition2020-007.html
Projects / Curatorial Work
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2025
TANK-TOP-TSUDA (2024–2025)
Regional Collaboration Project of the Setouchi Triennale (Kururi Art Kagawa),
in collaboration with Sanuki Base
https://www.fmkagawa.co.jp/2025/06/19/534280.html -
2024
KONMASA BLDG (2021–2024)
Long-term project: embedding a tank-top into a building for 999 days and excavating it on the 1,000th day
https://www.chunichi.co.jp/article/856186 -
2023
KONNANA
Project placing a tank-top on the iconic Nana-chan mannequin, Nagoya
https://mds.e-meitetsu.com/nana/2023/ -
2022
ON KAWARA – I Got Up
Collaborative Project, International Art Festival Aichi 2022
(Organizer)
https://aichitriennale.jp/2022/collabo/coop.html