The Art of Sushi and Sake
MARC KATANO – An Artist of Uncompromising Artistic Vision

By Nancy Uyemura

If you don’t know artist Marc Katano or are unfamiliar with his work, let me introduce him. He is someone you should know. As an artist he brings a certain clarity and pureness that is both deeply complicated and precisely simple at the same time. It’s like wading through the layers of one’s life to discover the Zen-like simplicity of the essence of one’s soul. Katano, born in Japan in the 50’s and spending most of his earlier years in the bay area of San Francisco, now lives and works in Los Angeles. He is a painter. Perhaps it is best to read in his own words, what he says about the work.
Marc Katano: Artist’s Statement:
“Over the past thirty years I have pursued a singular, aesthetic vision without compromising my principles or bowing to art-world trends. There is no self-promotion embedded in my art – it is pure and self generative and should be considered in such a sense. As I mentor young people now, I believe my position communicates a lot of what I think is important for an artist.
“The fundamental basis of my work is the act of inscription itself. Though my compositions are organic in form, they are inspired not by the emulation of nature but by the physicality of human expression, as made manifest in the precise motions of Japanese calligraphy.
“I would like to explain a little of my current technique. First, the ground color is painted on as a wash. Now imagine a droplet of water drying first from the outside edges while the center remains liquid. Using this idea, I paint ellipse forms freehand, with a brush, over the whole surface of the canvas, letting them dry for some time, then spraying off the surface with water, leaving behind layers of ellipses, and I build the composition as I work along intuitively.
“My visual vocabulary is made up of the simplest, most natural movements of the hand and arm, reflecting the physical activity of mark making. It is a self-referential language in which each line represents nothing more than its own creation and each piece finds meaning in the harmony of its own internal structure.”
Marc Katano received his Bachelor of Fine Arts with Distinction, from California College of Arts in Oakland, CA in 1975.
Katano is the recipient of the prestigious SECA Award from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. He has had thirty-nine one-person exhibitions in museums and galleries throughout the United States, Europe and Asia, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and a large survey exhibition at the Contemporary Museum at First Hawaiian Center, Honolulu, HI.
Marc’s work has also been included in exhibitions at the Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, CA, the Skirball Museum, Los Angeles, CA, the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art, La Jolla, CA, the Oakland Museum, Oakland, CA, the San Jose Museum of Modern Art, San Jose, CA and Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University, NJ.
This month Marc Katano opens a solo show in New York, “ EURHYTHMIC - LARGE SCALE PAINTINGS”
Cheryl Pelavin Fine Arts has worked with Katano for 15 years both as his publisher of monotypes and with exhibitions of his paintings. Katano’s signature elliptical strokes formed solid or semi- solid ovoid shapes that could be read as leaves layered in space or water. One could ascribe a narrative quality to the image. People also ascribed an Asian influence; Katano is Japanese American and even if viewers were unaware of his heritage they instantly saw the calligraphy of the East in his work.
Katano has always maintained a simple verbal approach to his process and art. He likes to paint continuously and his marks were originally the result of the “c” movement of his wrist directing his hand and brush. Over the last decade and a half his work has steadily progressed along a path of “less is more”. In his new works the mark making and color washes describe a void, using tender and subtle washes of color and with the merest suggestion of the original elliptical form, he has opened up a vast and lyrical space for color and mood to express itself. With changes in stroke and color the work can go from meditative to jagged or jazzy; from glossy and cool to hot and exciting. Elegance is a strong element in all of the paintings. The exhibition opens May 14 and runs to June 28, 2008. If you are lucky enough to be in New York around this time you are encouraged to see the show and visit the gallery.

Information
Opening Reception: Wednesday, May 14, 6 - 8 pm
Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 11 am - 6 pm telephone: 212 925-9424
You may also contact Marc directly at marc@marckatano.com
www.marckatano.com


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