The nature and myth of Kato Izumi “My life is a constant adventure”

Born in Shimane Prefecture, Japan in 1969, the wood carvings of Kato Izumi uncover the life and death in philosophy, the mass universe and the incarnation of life. After graduating from the Department of Oil Painting, Musashino Art University in 1992, he did not immediately throw himself into the art world, instead he worked in construction industry for 6 or 7 years until he was 30 years old. He then decided to leave the construction site and wholeheartedly devoted to creation. His creations are always named Untitled, yet most of them are human-like creatures. The imagery of his works is slightly mysterious, resembling the spirits resided in mountains and forests, with the spirit of Japanese Shintoism that all living things are divinities. His work contains a distinct original cultural image, the creatures are full of vitality as though depicted in myths and legends. From his creation, one can see his yearning for ancient nature, and also his imaginative and adventurous exploration spirit.

“Unlike painting, the creation of sculpture never ends.” — Kato Izumi

“Paintings should be like children freely swiping their brushes” Kato Izumi once described. He likes antiquities, also likes to visit museums, especially the statues of the Jomon period in Japan, which make his works distinctive, sometimes hermaphrodite, long limbs and creepy posture, feel like the primitive force of plants growing out of the ground but with the vitality of animals. In 2005, he began to explore the three-dimension sculptures, hence he commenced a series of woodcarving sculptures. The imagery of deity-like creature repeatedly appears, which gives another form of existence. He retains the rawness texture of wood, rough and primal as if the vibrant African sculptures, which is an ultimate expression of primitive art. This Autumn auction of Ravenel’s Modern and Contemporary Art proudly presents his woodcarving work “Untitled” made in 2014, with stylized bat wings and insect mesh eyes, uncanny yet refined, also exhibiting his highly stylised process in working with human images, this allows viewers to confront with the artist’s peculiar interpretation of all things in nature. His creations resemble both human and goodness forms, simultaneously display two sentiments of benevolent and unfamiliar. They are solemn, still but full of vigorous vitality. From flat surface to three-dimensional, from painting to sculpture, Kato Izumi’s unrestrained and abundant artistic characteristics create infinite possibilities in contemporary sculpture.