As he tries to identify himself, Sato Ataru (b. 1986), paints and draws in a very biographical, emotional and personal way. He expresses the range of his emotions to the viewer in densely filled drawings which are mostly self-portraits or those of his friends. Relationships and personalities are expressed in detail in different medium and levels of disclosure. He studied at Kyoto University of Art and Design, graduated in 2009 from the Advanced Art Course. His works were included in 10000 Lives: The 8th Gwangju Biennale, (2010), OUR MAGIC HOUR – How Much of the World Can We Know?, Yokohama Triennale 2011, and participated in INSIDE at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2014).

As Sato’s portraits are extremely biographical, often nude, they evoke (e)motion, dreams and his immediate surroundings. They are explicit and intense. Anxiety, fear, nature, organs, loneliness are intertwined and immediately apparent. His works often cover the whole surface, allowing the observer to choose their own path and make up their own (never-ending) story as there is so much to decipher.

In still green, 2015, pencil on paper and paper collage mounted on panel, a warm face with few lines but deep eyes is completed surrounded by braids, 3D representations of rooms, profiles, torsos, bondage scenes, portraits, animal fingers and sinuous parts of our anatomy. The contrast of light and dark is intense and captivating. The discovery of a cute dog suddenly alleviates the senses and adds contrast, as do some flowers and sparse geometric shapes.

Anne Mosseri-Marlio