Japanese artist Yuichiro Sato draws amazingly detailed depictions of Finnish nature in Kuhankoski, Laukaa. Sato’s drawings, made with pencil, capture the beauty of the Finnish landscape. Sato walks and takes photographs in his nearby forests, and combined with his imagination, they form the basis for the immersive large-scale works that contain countless details. For Sato, the nature is cosmic and an endless source of inspiration.
The Japanese traditional art, called “Japanese Painting”, has influenced Sato significantly and is the basis for his technique. What is transferred onto the paper, is not always the visible world, but also the invisible; the smell, sense of touch and sound of the forest. When gazing at the works, the viewer has a vivid sense of the silent surroundings and the life that the trees and the ecosystems of the depicted forests contain.
”I think the work I do, can only be made here”, says Sato. The decaying birches in the forest near his studio attracted the artist with their special beauty. ”They made me realize the power of life. Looking at the decaying trees, I came to the realization that life is not actually disappearing, but instead the phenomenon gives birth to new life in the forest. The decomposing trees contain all the traces left by the passage of time, and when approaching them you can smell the condensed air of the forest."
Sato’s second exhibition with Makasiini Contemporary, titled "The Depth of Silence" presents new works inspired by forests, including an 8-meter-wide freestanding panoramic work. Sato came to Finland originally in 2016. The initial plan was to stay in Finland for only a year, but after 6 years, he is still working here. After a string of exhibitions in his home country Japan, he has had several solo exhibitions in Finland, including the Jyväskylä Art Museum. In addition to various private and public collections in Japan and Europe, the British Museum acquired Sato’s work last year.
