Motoko Sato

Motoko Sato ⁄ 佐藤素子

Profile

Motoko Sato was born as a daughter of botanical artist, Sato Hiroki. He taught her to respect nature. Since she was 12 years old, she had learned paintings under the sculptor for 10 years. One day, she came across Alberto Giacometti’s artworks which had awakened her to the fine arts. After the graduation from Musashino Art University, she started her career as an art teacher and had taught art at public school in Tokyo for 38 years. During her teaching days, she had learned the value of life, not only for students but also for herself. While working at school, she had cared for her parents for 14 years, until the last day of their lives. Thanks to the both experiences of teaching students and caring of her parents, she had learned the importance of living for the moment and thinking others deeply. From that she chose photography to express her feelings. Now, she is seeking for the way of giving the ray of hope for people who are struggling and suffering with lives through her artworks, just as people had encouraged her and lightened her life.
Achievements in 2019
Solo Exhibition
・2019 “La Resonancia” OLYMPUS PULAZA TOKYO (Tokoyo, JAPAN)
・2018 “Les Cadeaux” GALLERY JALONA (Tokyo, JAPAN)
Group Exhibition
・2020 ERARTA MUSEUM (St.Petersburg,RUSSIA)
・2020 The BID/ArtSpace (Pesaro, Italy)
・2019 SHATTO GALLERY (Los Angeles, U.S.A)
・2019 “Novosibirsk International Festival of Contemporary Photography” (Novosibirsk, RUSSIA)
佐藤素子は幼い頃から父親である植物画家・佐藤廣喜から自然を尊敬する心を学びました。12歳から彼女は彫刻家のもとで10年間絵画を学び、そこでアルベルト・ジャコメッティの作品に出会い、芸術に目覚めました。武蔵野美術大学を卒業し、東京の公立学校で美術教師として38年間働きました。美術教育の場で子ども達の命を見つめるとともに彼女自身も人生の価値を学びました。その中の14年間、彼女は両親を最後まで介護しました。学校で教えることと両親を気遣うことの両方の経験は、相手を深く観てこの瞬間この場を生きる重さを心に刻みつけさせ、彼女に表現として写真を選ばせました。かつて彼女に出会った人々が彼女の人生に灯火をくれたように、今、彼女は作品を通じて生きることに苦しむ人々と共に灯火を見出そうと追求を続けています。
2019実績
個展
・2019 “La Resonancia” OLYMPUS PLAZA TOKYO(東京)
・2018 “Les Cadeaux” Gallery JALONA(東京)
グループ展
・2020 Erarta Museum(サンクトペテルスブルグ、ロシア)
・2020 The BID/Art Space(ペサーロ、イタリア)
・2019 Shatto Gallery(ロサンゼルス、アメリカ)
・2019 “Novosibirsk International Festival of contemporary Photography”(ノボシビルスク、ロシア)

Projects

Sato Motoko’s aesthetic sense was formed since childhood, long before she started to take photographs. By putting herself in nature through plants, she had improved her sense for life. Meanwhile, she had grown her aesthetic through performing Japanese traditional arts. She was brought up in traditional Japanese house. There were shoji or fusuma sliding doors and wooden pole in the house. At mealtimes, she used a pottery rice bowl and wooden chopsticks. She felt and enjoyed the texture of them with all five senses. She was constantly making something while developing her senses. The idea of her artworks comes from nature. Therefore, the sensitive pattern and texture attracts people. Her artworks embrace everything, such as the earth’s pulse, past and future. As she was also a painter, her perspective is really unique. Every spring, she goes on a pilgrimage to Shikoku area. We are living under the threat of natural disasters. As Japanese, we accept nature and live together quietly. This is Japan’s identity and it overlaps her artworks.
佐藤素子の美学は写真を撮るよりもずっと早く、幼いうちに形成されました。その一つは植物を通じて自然を捉え尊敬してきました。もう一つは日本の伝統芸術によって育まれました。子どもの頃の彼女は伝統的な紙と木でできた家に住んでいました。障子、襖、木の柱に触れ、陶器の茶碗と木の箸を唇で感じる。このように常に触覚を働かせながら彼女はたえず何かを作っていました。彼女の作品が自然をモチーフとしていて、微妙なパターンと手触りが観る者を魅了するのはそのためでしょう。そこには地球の鼓動や過去や未来のすべてが含まれているようです。画家であった彼女の視点は非常にユニークでもあります。また、彼女は毎春に四国への巡礼をしています。自然災害の多い環境の中で、自然を受け入れて静かに生きていく日本人としてのアイデンティティが彼女の作品と重なります。

La Resonancia (2016 - )
Each thing has its own color. But our eyes receive overlapping colors, such as the color of light, the color of the surrounding, the color of reflection. As well as the colors, also in our life, it's several elements together which influence us. She extracts the resonance of color and the hidden voice in nature from overlapping elements in this world.
それぞれのものには固有色があります。 しかし、私たちの目は、光の色、周囲の色、反射の色などのように、重なり合う色を捕らえています。 色だけでなく、私たちの生活においても、私たちに影響を与えるのはいくつかの要素が混ざり合っています。彼女は、この世界の重なり合う要素から色の共鳴と自然の隠れた声を抽出します。 ・Print Size: 432x890mm(17x35in), Image size: 394x700mm(15x27inch) / Edition:15
・Paper: Ilford Cotton Art Textured
・Number of worksː:15
・Project progressː Ongoing

 La Resonancia_01

La Resonancia_01

La Resonancia_07

La Resonancia_07

 La Resonancia_08

La Resonancia_08

La Resonancia_19

La Resonancia_19

La Resonancia_09

La Resonancia_09

 La Resonancia_15

La Resonancia_15

La Resonancia_02

La Resonancia_02

 La Resonancia_05

La Resonancia_05

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La Resonancia_11

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La Resonancia_10

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La Resonancia_20

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La Resonancia_18

Dialogue Avec L'invisible (2014 - )
She was inspired by copperplate engraving like etching and mezzotint. Her subject is about "contrast". For instance, white and black, life and death, visible and invisible. The opposite ones create each other's existence.
彼女はエッチングやメゾチントのような銅版彫刻に触発されました。 彼女の主題は「コントラスト」についてです。 例えば、白と黒、生と死、目に見えるものと見えないもののように。あい対するもの同士は互いの存在を創造し合います。
・Paper Size: 420x594mm(17x23in), Image size: 281x500mm(11x20inch) / Edition:15
・Paper: Japanese Traditional Handmade Paper "BIZAN"
・Number of worksː:15
・Project progressː Ongoing

L'invisiible_10

L'invisiible_10

 L'invisiible_03

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L'invisiible_22

 L'invisiible_08

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L'invisiible_12

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 L'invisiible_02

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L'invisiible_14

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Blue Pilgrimage (2013 - )
Since ancient times, the blue color of indigo dyeing has been loved by Japanese people. Cyanotype is the classical technique of blue photography. She blooms these Nirvana flowers on blue silk. She pilgrimages in Shikoku every spring after her parents died. These works are the beginnings of her new pilgrimage.
古来、藍染めの青い色は日本人に愛されてきました。 シアノタイプは、青写真の古典的な技術です。 彼女はこれらのニルヴァーナの花を青い絹に咲かせます。 彼女は両親が亡くなった後、毎年春に四国の巡礼をします。 これらの作品は彼女の新しい巡礼の始まりです。
・Paper Size: 35x1400mm(13x55in), Image size: 275x855mm(11x33ins.) / Edition:10
・Paper: Silk (Mount on Japanese Traditional Style Hanging Scroll)
・Number of worksː:6
・Project progressː Finished

Nirvāṇa / Manjusaka

Nirvāṇa / Manjusaka

 Nirvāṇa / Padmam

Nirvāṇa / Padmam

 Oshichi_04

a part of Padmam

a part of Manjusaka

a part of Manjusaka

Texture

Texture

Activities

Japanese Binding Workshop (Mar. 2020)

Japanese Binding Workshop
(Mar. 2020)

Foto Fest Meeting Place Paris (Nov. 2019)

Foto Fest Meeting Place Paris
(Nov. 2019)

photo exhibition in Tokyo (Apr. 2019)

Novosibirsk Photo Festival
(Apr. 2019)

Photolucida in Portland(Apr. 2019)

Photolucida in Portland
(Apr. 2019)

Solo exhibition in Tokyo   (Jan. 2019)

Solo exhibition in Tokyo
(Jan. 2019)

Solo exhibition in Tokyo   (Jan. 2019)

Solo exhibition in Tokyo
(Jan. 2019)

Solo exhibition in Tokyo   (Jan. 2019)

Solo exhibition in Tokyo
(Jan. 2019)

Solo exhibition in Tokyo   (Jan. 2019)

Solo exhibition in Tokyo
(Jan. 2019)

Taipei Art Photo (Nov. 2018)

Taipei Art Photo
(Nov. 2018)

 Solo exhibition in Tokyo (Oct. 2018)

Solo exhibition in Tokyo
(Oct. 2018)

Solo exhibition in Tokyo (Oct. 2018)

Solo exhibition in Tokyo
(Oct. 2018)

Foto Fest in Houston(Mar. 2018)

Foto Fest in Houston
(Mar. 2018)

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