Key Sato

Key Sato was a Japanese painter trained at the Tokyo University of the Arts, then at the Académie Colarossi in Paris. He exhibited at the Salon d’Automne between 1931 and 1933 before returning to Japan, where he co-founded the New Works Association. In 1952, he settled again in Paris and became involved with the Art Informel movement, exhibiting widely across Europe, Japan, and the United States. He took part in major events

such as the Venice Biennale, the Tokyo Biennale, and the Salon de Mai.

Sato’s work evolved from a figurative style to an abstraction deeply inspired by the mineral world. Influenced by the slowness of Noh theatre, his art develops gradually, layer by layer, in a meditative approach. Stones, driftwood, and geological elements became his main sources of inspiration, reflected in a natural palette of earth tones, blacks, browns, and ochres. He returned to Japan in 1978 and died the following year. Today, his work is held in numerous museums around the world, including the Tate Modern, the Centre Pompidou, and the National Museum of Tokyo.