AIKO

AIKO was born and raised in Tokyo before she moved to New York City in the mid-90s. Creating art since a young age, her art career in NYC began when she started working for Takashi Murakami. AIKO continued to practice her own art and after leaving Murakamiʼs studio, she pursued an MFA in Media Studies from the New School University. Before 2006, she was one of the members of the artist collective FAILE, after which she established herself as an independent artist. 

Through her work, AIKO interprets the dynamics of sex work, eroticism, and female empowerment, which is equally inspired by Western red-light districts and Japanese shunga, a 16th-century erotic art form. Upon moving to the US, her visual language transformed into a mixed media style, inspired by graffiti, advertisements, Pop Art as well as traditional Japanese aesthetics.

She is an acclaimed artist in the international graffiti, street art and contemporary art scene. In 2008, AIKO participated in a two-artist show called “Brick Ladies” with Lady Pink. Few years later in 2010, she worked with Banksy on ‘Exit Through the Gift Shop.' Her large-scale works are installed across many cities including Miamiʼs Wynwood Walls, 2009; New York Cityʼs Bowery Wall, 2013; and Coney Art Walls curated by Jeffrey Deitch in 2015, 2016, 2017. AIKO has exhibited in a collection of group shows such as ‘Animamix Biennale’ held at Shanghai’s MoCA in 2009; ‘Edo Pop’ at Japan Society NYC in 2013; BEYOND THE STREETS in LA, NY, and London between 2018, 2019, 2023. She has shown her work through solo shows, “Sweet Heart” at The Outsiders Gallery in the UK in 2014 and Lady Go at Shizuoka City Tokaido Hiroshige Museum in 2018. On the commercial front, AIKO has been commissioned to create works in collaboration with Louis Vuitton, FENDI, Coach, Apple, Microsoft, Estée Lauder, Kiehlʼs, The Standard, W Hotel, Sanrio Hello Kitty, Isetan, Warner Bros., RED, Pepsi, Reebok, WTC as well as for the former First Lady Michelle Obama. The artist is currently based in New York City where she is focusing on her studio practice and commissioned works.