Saemi Kato

Saemi Kato freely expresses the energy of her thoughts and emotions with sumi ink. Ever since she was a child Saemi has loved drawing and making things, and she has immersed herself in various creative activities.
In 2022 Saemi began working with sumi ink and mud pigment (suihi-enogu, a nihonga paint containing fine particles traditionally derived from natural mud). These are the perfect tools for Saemi to express herself freely. Through her paintings, made without prior drafting, Saemi expresses the emotional energy that runs through her body and the thoughts that come to her mind in the moment. The large, dynamic style of her works is also part of their appeal.
After graduating from art college, Saemi did not go straight into art, instead first working as a graphic designer and later in advertising production and sales promotion. However, these work experiences, and all of the struggles and other experiences in her life to date, contribute to the elements that comprise her works. Had she only honed her techniques straight out of art college, she would not have acquired the intangible ingredients, the seasoning, of the paintings she makes today.
Saemi paints freely, allowing her sensations to arise and flow without being bound by her thoughts, expressing and hoping that even in today’s chaotic world, there is always the freedom of creativity.

Saemi Katoは、想いや感情のエネルギーを墨を使って自由に表現している。
彼女は幼い頃から絵を描いたり物づくりが大好きで、様々な創作活動をしてきた。
2022年頃からは墨と水干絵具を使った制作を開始。墨は自由に表現できるツールとして彼女にピッタリだったのだ。その時その時の身体中に駆けめぐる感情のエネルギーや浮かんだ想いを下書きをせず絵で表現している。大きくてダイナミックな作風も魅力の一つである。

芸術大学を卒業後、グラフィックデザイナーを経て企業で広告制作や販売促進の仕事を行い、まっすぐアートの道に進まなかったがそれまでの人生で関わったこと・苦悩や経験が全て彼女の作品を構成する要素となっている。技術だけ磨いていたら、今の絵は到底描けなかったであろう。

彼女は思考にとらわれず湧き出る感覚に身を任せて自由に描き、今の混沌とした世の中でも創作はいつだって自由なのだと表現し、望んでいる。