Lot 1155: EISUKE SATO

EISUKE SATO
(Born in 1973)
Repetition; Green Man; Inside & Outside
signed, titled, dated and inscribed 'Eisuke Sato; 2002; repetition; 56 x 56 cm' in English (on reverse); signed, titled, dated and inscribed 'Eisuke Sato; 2007; Green Man; 146 x 146 cm.' in Japanese & English (on reverse);
signed, titled, dated and inscri
three acrylic on canvas
56 x 56 cm. (22 x 22 in.); 144 x 144 cm. (56 3/4 x 56 3/4 in.); 35 x 24.5 cm. (13 3/4 x 9 1/2 in.)
Painted in 2002; 2006 & 2007 (3)

The disquieting paintings of Sato summon an unsettling physical response. Sato's personal trepidation towards modern life is doggedly repeated throughout his paintings, exhibiting the ill reality of the excessive responsibilities people must endure in the perpetually modernizing society. With a chronic fear of interpersonal judgment and humiliation, Sato's works express the depression he, and perhaps fellow citizens feel in their strife to keep in pace with the high expectations set by society.

Sato employs warm hues and tones such as okra, grey and teal as a site for his mentally disquiet works. The flatness of the canvas alongside the elongated forms of his paintings only further emphasizes the anxiety and dejection experienced by the artist. Sato's delicate painting technique draws ostensibly peaceful tales, as the gentle yet sad colors represent the purity of mind that became overshadowed with by social and environmental stresses.
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The semi-transparent macrobiotic man who quietly appears in Green Man (Lot 1155) seemingly straddles between being alive and not. His pale patch like face melds into the background and his full form is unseen by the viewer. Like the top of the frame within this painting that begins to heavily drip into the center of the piece, the man seems to struggle to find a breath of air within the empty central space. Following the idea that the artist struggles in an artificial environment Green Man reiterates a sense of claustrophobia as the face is far too large for the small size of the frame.

Perhaps to demonstrate a sense of hope, Repetition (Lot 1155) shows a greener, more organic scene. Though equally claustrophobic, we find that the central jellyfish like organism grows within greenery, a sign of more oxygen, fresh air and a new start. The organism struggles to rise above the surface but its lustrous green against the darker hues of the background gives the viewer a sense of sanguinity that he will indeed, survive.

While the dark black water and stark background of In & Out (Lot 1155) is eerie and unknown to the viewer, a large brightly painted flower and leaves grows strongly upwards. As if it is charged with a surge of endless energy, the white growths surrounding this central motif are highly likely to grow and similarly flourish. Though the unlit austere conditions to this work is indicative of the artist working from a deep, inner anguish yet Sato's progress in spirit is promising as this work presents a simple yet striking balance between water and air, earth and sky, dark and light and finally, the known and unknown.