Izumi Kato's Exhibition At Perrotin New York Features Evolving Forms

(MENAFN- USA Art News) A new solo exhibition by artist Izumi Kato at Perrotin in New York City presents a dreamlike convergence of two- and three-dimensional works. The Tokyo- and Hong Kong-based artist's practice, known for surreal paintings where elements like floating stones and morphing bodies appear, now encompasses wood forms, soft vinyl sculptures, and cast metal.

Kato's latest exhibition, which opens tomorrow and continues through December 19, explores materiality through an almost alchemical approach. His tiny wooden figures are painted with the same technique he applies to flat canvases. What appear to be stones are actually lightweight cast aluminum, sometimes suspended from the ceiling to challenge perception.

The artist has long created what he calls hitogata, a Japanese term for“dolls.” These humanoid figures frequently emerge from totem-like stacks of multiple canvases, reminiscent of the surrealist technique of cadavre exquis. Their swirling eyes, merged noses, and mouths blend into nebulous forms, while limbs and torsos can transform into amphibious legs or light refractions in water. Marine creature motifs, including coral, jellyfish, and sharks, appear in compositions that offer both above-and-below views of pelagic ecosystems, reflecting Kato's longtime interest in fishing.

In an exhibition essay, Michelle Yun Mapplethorpe, director and chief curator at the Katonah Museum of Art, stated:“When considered as a whole, this new body of work affirms the undeniable bond between humanity and nature, and the enduring continuum of the creative impulse across chronologies and geographies to seek the answer of what it means to be human.”

Featured works in the exhibition include:

Untitled (2025), urethane paint on aluminum, coating, 27 1/16 x 17 13/16 x 11 5/16 inches Untitled (2026), oil on canvas, 82 1/2 x 87 3/8 inches Untitled (2026), wood, acrylic, lure, stainless steel, urethane paint on aluminum, 56 11/16 x 17 11/16 x 55 1/8 inches Untitled (2026), oil on canvas, 105 7/8 x 58 7/8 inches Untitled (2026), urethane paint on aluminum, coating, 27 5/8 x 17 5/8 x 15 1/16 inches Untitled (2026), oil on canvas, frame, 70 1/4 x 35 13/16 inches Untitled (2026), acrylic, wood, plastic model, silicon, stainless steel, 16 15/16 x 23 5/8 x 23 5/8 inches

Source: This Is Colossal

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