The motifs in Kato Izumi’s paintings and sculptures evoke primordial life forms before emergence into the world. His early paintings featured fetuses enclosed in amniotic fluid or membrane, reclining infants, and ghostly, hovering figures. In recent years, he has produced multi-canvas works depicting people alongside animals, plants, and marine life. Notably, the group of paintings that developed from his 2021-22 lithograph series “From the Sea,” reflect a new endeavor to depict sea creatures with greater realism, using references such as illustrated field guides and photographs. They also draw on Kato’s visual memories accumulated since childhood, as he has spent time fishing at the seaside throughout his life. These works seem to hint at how all living things interrelate, embracing painting’s capacity to respond to reality while remaining fictional, and presenting humankind as equal to other forms of life.

Nearly 30 years after his first solo exhibition, Kato continues to pursue new challenges and expand his practice with tireless energy. He began by experimenting with coarse canvas textures better suited to finger painting than brushwork. In sculpture, he transitioned from wood carving to aluminum casting and broadened his materials to include soft vinyl, plastic model kits, stone, textiles, and bronze. His color palette has also grown more vivid. This spirit of inquiry and openness to new materials and techniques underpins his disciplined approach as a painter who sees sculpture as an extension of painting. At the same time, Kato considers it crucial that his work is free of rigidity and tinged with subtle humor. At Aichi Triennale 2025, this playful sensibility will be evident in the pairing of his work with fragments of vessels from the collection of the Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum.