Page 141 - japanese and korean art Utterberg Collection Christie's March 22 2022

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KATO RYOZO (B. 1964)
Tokagen (The Peach Blossom Spring) The landscape painting tradition developed simultaneously across
numerous generations and countries by independent invention,
Sealed Katoku shinsen and Ryozo reveals various perspectives, spiritual and emotional inspirations.
Ink and natural pigment on Japanese paper mounted Kato studied and practiced the tradition of nihonga, a painterly
on board style that follows traditional Japanese artistic conventions, of
35√ x 28¬ in. (91.1 x 72.7 cm.) which its heritage of techniques and materials were introduced
With a paper slip titled, signed Kato Ryozo and sealed from China and Korea more than a thousand years ago.
Ryozo The characteristic of the nihonga style is its use of natural
$6,000-9,000 media, where a fine brush is used to paint imagery with sumi
ink or exquisite colours made from natural mineral pigments
called iwa'enogu and synthetic mineral pigments called shin-
iwa'enogu. These pigments are pulverised into 16 gradations from
a fine powder to sandy grain particles. An animal glue solution
called nikawa, is used as a binder. Works are typically rendered
on such supports as washi (Japanese paper), where the painting
has a distinct characteristic of an overall subtle matte surface
with a faint sheen. Working in the methodical

nihonga method, Kato is also fascinated by Chinese ink landscape
painting tradition of the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127),
where sceneries in scroll formats were rendered with finely
executed strokes categorized as fuhekishun (axe-cut stroke)
and himashun (fiber texture stroke). Kato applies comparable
characteristics by painting his landscape, channeling the eye
vertically through the foliage or horizontally through the
mountain ranges, inviting the viewer to visually tread along
a meandering path. By employing delicate brushwork over a
softly color-washed paper, Kato forms a romantic vision of
dense foliage that seemingly provides shelter for the hermetic
literati scholars who similarly practiced this style of painting.
The acute shading of beige and green are equally reminiscent of
18th Century artist Thomas Gainsborough's romantic paintings
in which natural, untamed landscapes represent the grandeur of
Nature. Kato follows in the footsteps of his British predecessors,
using color to reveal the subtle nuances in clouds, greenery
and ground, further extending the rich and complex idyllic
landscape in our imagination. Though unexplored wilderness
may present unexpected encounters with animals and strangers,
Kato's paintings negate fears and tribulations of the extreme
wild and instead invite the viewer into his calm and meditative
surroundings. Kato's unique visual language revitalizes the
tradition of landscape painting medium, as well as bridging the
Eastern and Western aesthetic into a harmonious equilibrium.

加藤良造 (B. 1964) 桃花源