Erin Kono

Comhbhá

Egg tempera on traditional icon board

“An apotropaic mer-baby. This is part of the exhibition ‘Apotrope,’ which incorporates folklore and mythology from both East and West, focusing on symbols imbued with apotropaic properties intended to protect and shield the viewer from evil. Symbols and stories, untethered by logic, reveal the essence of truth. Embraced and embodied in the images, these truths both channel nature’s light and ward off the inevitable shadows.

The mer-infant is one of three, Síocháin, Grá, and Comhbhá (Irish for Peace, Love, and Understanding, and a nod to the Elvis Castello song), that evolved from the sea and will return to it. They point toward a necessary reawakening of the Western mind and a reconnection to the natural world. The three children are illuminated with poppies of peace and four-leaf clovers, emblematic of faith, love, hope, and good fortune.”

— Erin Kono

About the artist

Erin Kono

E. E. Kono lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. While she is a self-taught painter, she studied art history at the University of Hull (England) and The University of Iowa (Iowa City, IA). She has studied traditional egg tempera techniques under the guidance of artist Koo Schadler. Raised in the upper Mississippi River valley, Kono spent her formative summers exposed to the global community of her parents' graduate housing. She traveled extensively between the U.S., Asia, and Europe as an adult. She married into a Japanese American family and is raising her daughter in California. An avid sailor, Kono's work often shows a connection to the sea. Before focusing on her art practice, Kono wrote and illustrated books for children publishing over a dozen picture books with major trade publishers. Kono's work is collected internationally and has been shown in many venues, including La Luz de Jesus, Modern Eden, and Riverside Art Museum.

CV:

Education

1995
BA Art History, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

2014
Studied egg tempera under Koo Schadler

1999
UCLA Extension, Graphic Design/Computer Graphics, Los Angeles

1992
Art History, University of Hull, England

Exhibition Record

2022 Apotrope, solo, La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

2022 Small Works, Beinart, Melbourne Australia

2022
Art Market San Francisco, La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles

2022
100 Trees, Modern Eden, San Francisco, CA

2021 Grand Saloon, La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

2021 Curio -solo, Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA

2021 Lore, Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2021 Stardust Antennas, WOWxWOW, Online Gallery, Scotland

2021 Monochromagic 4, WOWxWOW, Online Gallery, Scotland

2021 Portrait Show IX , Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2021 Zoo, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance CA -cancelled due to COVID-19

2020
July, two person show at La Luz de Jesus, Los Angeles, CA

2020
LAAA Seclusion Art Sale, Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA

2019
2019 Open Show, Juried by Ade Omotosho, , Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA

2019
Represented LAAA as featured artist at Beverly Hills Art Show

2019
Art Market San Francisco, La Luz de Jesus, Los Angeles, CA

2019
Full Bodied, Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA

2019
Beast, Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA

2018
32nd Annual Drawing Show, La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

2018
Ogdoad, La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

2018
Laluzapalooza, La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

Bibliography

"Fine Art 2019 In + Around LA" :Form Pioneering Design, February 2019, pg. 22.

"Meet the Illustrator: Erin Eitter Kono‚" Brightly, June 2015

Publications as Author/Illustrator

Kono, Erin, Every Color, Dial, New York, NY, 2016

Kono, Erin, Caterina and the Best Beach Day, Dial, New York, NY, 2015

Kono, Erin, Caterina and the Lemonade Stand, Dial, New York, NY, 2014

Kono, Erin, Caterina and the Perfect Party, Dial, New York, NY, 2013

Kono, Erin, The Twelve Day's of Christmas in Wisconsin, Sterling, New York, NY, 2007

Kono, Erin, Hula Lullaby, Little Brown, New York, NY, 2005

Vega, Denise, Grandmother Have the Angels Come?, Little Brown, New York, NY,2009

Ries, Lori, Punk Wig, Boyds Mill Press, 2008

Schotter, Roni, Passover, Little Brown, New York, NY,2006

O'Hair, Margaret, Star Baby, Clarion, New York, NY 2005

Ross, Eileen, Nellie and the Bandit, Farrar Straus Giroux, New York, NY 2005

Collections

Mazza Museum, The University of Findlay, Findlay, OH 45840

Private collections in US and Great Britain