KOSAKU KANECHIKA is pleased to present Ataru Sato’s solo exhibition “Øth (Zeroth)” from June 6 to July 11, 2020.

Through the medium of drawing and painting, Ataru Sato is able to understand the world, the people surrounding him, and himself. Featuring themes of obsession, fear, and romance through his fine pencil lines and unique brush strokes, Sato explicates that his work is something that he creates for himself and other individuals. As such, he does not pursue the ambition of creating “art for art’s sake,” novelty, or other motives. Born from a core of personal questions, Sato’s ambition continues to be driven by the need to comprehend the indiscernible aspects of life.

Regarding this exhibition, Sato has expressed the following—
　
Unpredictable things tend to happen in the world, and nothing can usually be said about the event or situation.
Even if you think you’re heading somewhere, you may suddenly come to notice that you’re actually standing back at zero, and that everything you knew to be true has been dispelled.
I’m not really sure what’s going on right now, but I want to stay here and think about what I don’t understand.
I paint because I want to paint, and that has always remained the same. Thus, I want to continue painting in this unchanging manner, and venture over the vantage point of being at zero.
The exhibition title, “Øth (Zeroth),” has the meaning of zero as a condition, while “OTH,” its abbreviation, can be expanded to read as “over the horizon.”
　
We all live in this unpredictable world–bewildered, anxious, and afraid. Yet, we also often turn our backs on such emotions and behave as if there is nothing wrong on the surface. It is from this state of vulnerability that Sato begins, sincerely while free of any hesitations, and relays the allegorical nature of his visual language. For this reason, his seemingly eccentric imagery appears to relate back to everyday life.

This show features the artist’s new box-format series that was first introduced at the group exhibition, “INTERPRETATIONS, TOKYO,” held at the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, and at the Dojima River Biennale in 2019. Consisting of works of varying mediums, the imagery featured in this exhibition is drawn from the likes of cinema and magazines, while viewers can also expect to see self-portraits and elements of paper collage.

A medley of Sato’s personal emotions and experiences, as well as fragments of various images found in circulation, the works of this exhibition contain a sense of universality and unconventional beauty through the process of deconstruction and reassembly. At this time, we cordially invite you to attend Ataru Sato’s solo exhibition, “Øth (Zeroth).”

Ataru Sato

Ataru Sato was born in Chiba Prefecture in 1986 and is currently based in Tokyo, Japan. In 2009, he graduated from Kyoto Zokei University’s Faculty of Art & Design, Department of Information Design’s Advanced Art Course. In addition to his solo exhibitions at Gallery Koyanagi in 2011 and 2015, Sato has also held solo shows in New York and Brussels. His major group exhibitions include the “8th Gwangju Biennale” (2010), “Yokohama Triennale 2011: OUR MAGIC HOUR—How Much of the World Can We Know?” (2011), “Inside” (Palais de Tokyo, 2014), “INTERPRETATIONS, TOKYO” (2019), and the “Dojima River Biennale 2019” (2019). Sato’s works have also been featured in public collections such as the Takahashi Collection and Louis Vuitton Malletier. “Øth (Zeroth)” will mark Sato’s third solo exhibition at KOSAKU KANECHIKA since 2017 and 2018.