Tadashi Sato: A Retrospective
June 21 ö August 18, 2002

The Contemporary Museum presented this first retrospective exhibition of noted HawaiÎi artist Tadashi Sato, organized by James Jensen, TCM Associate Director and Chief Curator. The retrospective was shown concurrently at two venues: The Contemporary Museum at First Hawaiian Center (May 3 ö September 17, 2002) and The Contemporary Museum, Makiki Heights (June 21 ö August 18, 2002).

Tadashi Sato (b. 1923) is one of HawaiÎiâs most respected artists. In a career now spanning over 50 years, Sato has become known for his spare, subtle abstract compositions. He is also recognized for works with imagery drawn from the natural world around him, especially the tide pools and submerged rocks of the coastlines where he fishes near his home in Lahaina on the island of Maui. Always, Sato paints with signature delicate, crosshatched brushstrokes.

The survey explored Satoâs career and comprised paintings, drawings and watercolors borrowed from public, private, corporate and museum collections in both HawaiÎi and the continental United States.

The exhibition at TCMâs primary venue in Makiki Heights provided a broader, chronological overview of Satoâs work and development, beginning with examples of his early Subway Series of the late 1940s. The exhibition included several of Satoâs early abstract compositions of the 1950s, when he lived and worked in New York and briefly visited Japan. The retrospective then focused on his achievements as a mature artist in HawaiÎi. This period dates from his return to Maui in1960, when he turned to subject matter inspired by nature and the landscape/seascape. More recent works illustrated Satoâs revisitation of his earlier abstract compositions. Selections from this exhibition are travelling to the Maui Arts and Cultural Center in the fall of 2002, where they will be supplemented by works from Maui collections.

The exhibition at TCM at First Hawaiian Center examines four themes that Sato has explored in series throughout his career: landscapes/seascapes of Nakalele, Satoâs favorite shoreline fishing spot on Maui; lava fields interpreted in a faceted, "cubist" style that evokes the broken, rough terrain of lava flows; "airscapes," in which Sato depicts the light and shadow play of clouds moving across the landscape; and sea forms, a recent series inspired by the shape of the sea urchin. Also on view is a large painting shown together with its preliminary ink drawing and an oil study on canvasboard, illustrating how Sato develops many of his works from initial idea to finished canvas.

A full-color, soft-cover catalogue of the Sato retrospective is available at TCM's Museum Shop in Makiki Heights. The catalogue includes an essay on the artistâs work and career, illustrations of all works in the exhibition, documentary photographs, an exhibition checklist and a bibliography.

The Contemporary Museum is proud that Verizon Hawaii was the lead sponsor of the Tadashi Sato retrospective exhibition. Through their generous support, TCM was able to bring this survey of Satoâs work to the community. Additional support for this exhibition was provided by the Richard A. Florsheim Art Fund, and by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.