IZUMI KATO
Perrotin is pleased to present an exhibition by the Japan-based artist Izumi Kato. Embodying a primal, universal form of humanity founded less on reason than on intuition, these magical beings invite viewers to recognize themselves.
March 24 – May 18, 2024
These figures evoke reminiscences of Kodama, tree spirits seen in Japanese anime, bearing qualities reminiscent of fictional extraterrestrial beings. In Kato’s work, these small figures have slender limbs without hands or feet and are frequently described as “alien-like,” “humanoid,” “expressionless,” “Sphinx-like,” “ghostly,” “primitive,” and “totemic”... They often appear in pairs, gazing out from the canvas with round, hollow eyes.
While many viewers are already acquainted with the mysterious humanoid figures in the artist’s portfolio, works in this exhibition reveal a recent shift: the introduction of animal figures and their significant connection to anatomy. In Kato’s previous works, animal elements often appeared in an anthropomorphic manner, but now they have evolved into independent and tangible forms, coexisting with the perennial protagonists, the humanoid figures. In some paintings, animal figures even assume dominant roles, relegating human figures to secondary positions.
These humanoid figures also exhibit features that resemble both animals and plants. In some past paintings, their legs and feet become stem-like branches, flowers blooming at the tips, leaves growing on top of their heads. They sometimes stand on all fours, resembling centaurs or beings that are half-human, half-deer.
The new works introduce additional dualisms, including the interplay between the interior and exterior, and the juxtaposition of humans and animals. In the plastic sculpture pieces, an intricate skeletal structure is enclosed within a transparent vinyl shell, with animal characters serving as anatomical counterparts.
Their shapes were rawer, conveying distinct expressions of despair and anxiety. In recent years, the works have become more vibrant in color, with relatively richer backgrounds. However, emotional signifiers have become more ambiguous, with the gaze of the humanoid figures displaying a sense of confusion and loss. The treatment of facial expressions and the internal aspects of the bodies resemble landscapes. The deadpan expression of the small humanoid figures and the malleability they bring may be considered one of Kato’s core methodologies in his creative process.
This intentional blurring, and consistent use of untitled nomenclature, render the identity of the protagonist mysterious. One can also observe layers and layers of transformations, seemingly representing the artist’s refusal to adhere to a specific set of interpretations. The figures do not speak, they do not commit. In Kato’s ambiguous symbolism, they are both spirits floating in deep forests and mountains, and witnesses of modernity’s disillusionment in the Capitalocene.