Drawn to Form- Artist as Collector

Sculptor Mami Kato is this week's guest blogger for our Artist as Collector Series.

The piece on the left is by Martin Puryear.

About 4 years ago, we were fortunate to have a chance to visit his studio, and saw this piece in his trash box. I really loved it at first glance, and I whispered to my daughter to ask him if we could take that piece with us (instead of me asking). So, she did and he generously accepted that request. 

 Now it’s in our house.

 This piece didn’t end up as part of his finished work, but it still has the same certain quality that his work contains. I love feeling the form of the piece with its certain mass and curves with nice weight.

 The piece on the right is by my good friend Keiko Miyamori.

 I think that she has a magnetic personality and a beautiful sensibility to listen to the small voice and feel the gentle body temperature of the existence which is often overlooked in the modern society.

 This piece is a pair of wooden molds for children’s shoes, covered with washi paper (Japanese paper) which had previously been rubbed over some tree bark with graphite.

 I saw this piece in her show and l loved it.

 Her work consistently captures her personality and the pureness of this piece is no exception.      

Mami Kato's work is informed by her childhood memories of growing up in Northern Japan.

Currently, her work takes on more universal themes such as "where and when we exist in the view of quantum cosmology and the Buddhist view of the structure of the world and how recognize our surroundings through those ideas."

Mami was awarded a 2011-12 Visual Arts Fellowship from CFEVA (Center for Emerging Visual Artists.)