Yoshinobu Kato, a 74-year-old abstract painter, has been putting dots onto canvases and other surfaces for the past 30 years. His latest exhibition, "A dot, that is Cosmic," will be held at Gallery Bijutsu Sekai in Ginza Aug. 3-9.
"I started dot paintings thinking that by understanding points, I would be able to understand lines, horizontal planes and then spaces," Kato explains.
Only in the last six years did Kato start to use colors instead of black dots on white backgrounds. "If you are in a black-and-white space, you don't have freedom with which you can let your emotions 'play.' Then I came to understand the importance of colors. With colors, you can let your emotions play."
In the coming exhibition, more than 40 pieces by Kato will be exhibited from the smallest 28 cm × 28 cm painting to a large 250 cm × 95 cm work. It took Kato three years to complete the latter. Some of the exhibits contain elements made of tiles.
Explaining the title of the exhibition, Kato says: "I now feel that I have finally become 'one point.' You will find your own one point in my works."
"A dot, that is Cosmic" runs Aug. 3-9 at Gallery Bijutsu Sekai, Eiko Ginza Bldg. 3F, 2-3-2 Ginza, Tokyo, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. (closed on Aug. 6). Admission is free. For more info, call (03) 5159-9777 or visit www.gallery-bs.com