Artist’s Statement

Sato always begins her work by absorbing energy from the events that occur and objects that exist quietly in everyday life. 

She explains her work thus:“I find inspiration in the smaller things that happen around me every day. My work takes shape gradually as I spend my days absorbing and reflecting on these moments. Our daily lives are not confined merely to the past, or to the present, or even the future. It is this point that I find attractive. If my audience views my work and it happens to bring them joy, I hope that they will experience that joy not only at the venue but also take it home with them. I hope that it will allow them to see their everyday routine in new ways. I want them to fully appreciate those special things that make their lives uniquely their own.”

Sato’s artistic practice has progressed with the daily changes in her own life, resulting in a multi-valenced and multi-layered technique that results in drawings, paintings, photos and various permutations of the aforementioned. Her methods are many: at times, she draws on the photos themselves; at others, she prints them on a canvass and then paints over them. Still in other circumstances, she combines separate photos to make short video pieces. But even with her strong command of technology, Sato’s works retain the warmth and feel of the hand-made. The music in her films, for example, is composed lovingly of sounds sampled by the artist herself, from sources such as car engines and drumming on buckets. 

“Lately I’ve been doing a lot of workshops and live painting and have learned a lot from these too. I’ve had to display my art in all sort of different ways and from this, I’ve become more conscious of the role and effect that presentation and reception of the audience play in my work.“

Sato’s career has blossomed not only in Japan but also abroad. She has exhibited in places as diverse as New York and Singapore. Even in these foreign environments, she collects all her materials on site and interacts with the locals as she proceeds with her creative process. In this way, her works succeed in capturing the feel of each locale, and by encapsulating the everyday lives of each unique audience, result in an intimate environment that immediately brings guests together in conversation. 

Through the Fountainhead Residency, Sato greatly looks forward to the opportunity to experience a new environment and to the new artistic productions that will be born from such encounter. Her desire is to capture scenes that can only be situated locally and to bring out the poetry found therein.

Artist’s Links

artist’s website:   http://english.kaikaikiki.co.jp/artists/list/C10/     

gallery links:        http://www.lehmannmaupin.com/#/artists/rei-sato/