A dreamlike meeting of painting and sculpture
Japanese artist Izumi Kato brings paintings and three-dimensional works together in a new solo exhibition at Perrotin in New York. The works imagine a fluid realm where human figures, stones and marine life seem to shift between forms and dimensions.
Kato's practice spans canvas, wood, soft vinyl and cast metal. His sculptures share the layered, painterly treatment of his canvases: lightweight aluminum forms can resemble stones, while small wooden figures appear as if they have stepped out of a painting.
Many of the works feature the artist's recurring hitogata--Japanese for "dolls"--with enigmatic faces and bodies that merge into stacked, totem-like shapes. Some limbs evoke amphibians or the play of light underwater. Marine motifs, including coral, jellyfish and sharks, reflect Kato's long-standing interest in fishing and the sea.
The exhibition opens October 28 and continues through December 19. Together, its works explore the relationship between people and nature, inviting viewers to consider how creative expression connects ideas across time and place. This blending of human and natural forms offers a vivid way to imagine how art can shape future conversations about our place in the living world.
