Tokihiro Sato


Biography
 

1957 Born in Yamagata Prefecture


1981 B.F.A.in Sculpture,
Tokyo National University of 
Fine Arts and Music


1983 M.F.A.in Sculpture, 
Tokyo National  University of
Fine Arts and Music
 

1993 Artist Residency in France
(Mercedes Benz grant)
 

1994 Artist Residency
in England (Agency for Cultural 
Affairs of Japan) 
 

Presently working for
Tokyo National University of
Fine Arts and Music, 
Fine Arts Department,
Photographic Center. 

 





     
    
    Breathing Light 
The World of Tokihiro Sato




In our first encounter with the

photographs of Tokihiro Sato,

we find a very poetic, lyrical

world. Strange particles of light

dispersed throughout the

landscapes, cityscapes and

deserted houses. Objects bathed

and rimmed with light like

illuminations. Perfectly still

and deep, they present a single

scene of light that seems to

breathe.





How does the artist create these

photographs with such strange

light?  A video made by Sato

himself shows that they are

exposed for a long time while he

moves around with a mirror,

stopping to direct the reflected

sunlight at the camera lens.

Through this monotonous

repetition, the particles of

light are brought onto the

photograph.






This procedure reveals that

scenes which at first sight

seem to be filled with poetic

expression actually possess

constructed spaces and

structures. The light reflected

by the mirror converges on the

camera and the tracks of light

link the camera with light

particles. Looking just like

a land surveyor, Sato walks

around holding the mirror and

measuring the interval between  

his location and the camera

according to the path of the 

light. This is nothing other  

than the measurement of space.




 Tokihiro Sato graduated from

university in sculpture.

Indeed, he first used photo-

graphy in his art when he

had the idea of making light

tracks with a pencil torch

next to a wire sculpture he

had made and photographing

it.  In short he discovered

photography by creating a

sculpture through light

in space.



 

Sato's photographs give us

a strong feeling of space,

depth, and, through the

artist's process of applying

light, even a sense of time.

The aesthetic effect of these

sensitively expressed works is

certainly pleasant. However, we

have to realize that if we

simply stop there, we are

doing no more than scratching

the surface. The photographs

of Tokihiro Sato breathe in

an altogether deeper space.


Takuo Komatsuzaki 
Senior curator,
NTT Intercommunication Center








  



Takuo Komatsuzaki

Biography


1953 Born in Japan
 

1983 M.A.in Art History, 
Gakushuin University (Tokyo)
 

1986 Curator, SOGO Museum
of Art
 

1988 Curator, Project Office,
Koriyama City Museum of Art


1989 Curator, The Hiratsuka 
Museum of Art
 

1997 Senior Curator, NTT
Intercommunication Center 
(ICC,Tokyo) from May
 

1993-1996 Lecturer at Tohoku 
University of Art & Design 


 
Curation
HIBINO SPECIAL (The
Hiratsuka Museum of Art,1994), 
TOKYO POP (The Hiratsuka Museum 
of Art,1996) etc.

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For the latest Sato exhibition
(November 2000)
click here